Cambridge 740c or Rega Apollo with Linn and Sonus

My 840c has maybe.....20 hours of play and while still a little 'new' is terrific. Great resolution and dynamics.
I am using the balanced into a PSAudio GCC and driving some Magnepans...
So far, everybody seems to be playing nicely together.

Also, Just as a general comment, don't worry about chipset or DAC or whatever. It is IMPLEMENTATION that counts.
2 players with same or similar chipsets/dacs can sound a world apart. player #1 uses Hi-Quality components thruout, a no-compromise PS and is fully balanced thruout. Player #2, using the same chipset/dacs has cheesy caps an indifferent PS and uses unbalanced outputs.
You've seen how this turns out.

Fwiw, I had an 840c for a month and it was competing w/ cheap dvd as transport into benchmark dac1 and ayre cx7e.
For me, a good analogy might be to cars. The 840 seemed like a luxury sedan.smooth, lots of nice features, well appointed.
The ayre remindes me of a sports car. The controlls you need are there. I feel more of the road with the ayre. I think that it might be more awareness of the leading edge of sounds (is that what people mean by attack?).

Linn synergy carries a lot of weight. Because you own a Linn Majik integrated amp I would still look for a Linn cdp with their black or silver interconnect. You will be happier in the long run.

A used Linn Genki can be gotten for $750 and a used Linn Mimik can be goten fot under $400.

Also use Linn's own Bi-wire K400 speaker cable. The balance is awesome. Then add their tuner down the road.

Mike