McIntosh MCD500 vs Marantz SA7S1

Dealer just called to tell me it's in.

Going in this weekend to give a listen

Know Talent,
Any updates on the MCD 500?

I have both in my home and I prefer the marantz by a wide margin. The mac seams to mask some things.

I had previously spent some time with all of the Mac CD/SACD players, albeit the time was very limited.

Just spent the entire weekend with the MCD201 on loan - initially ran it through my Sonic Frontiers Line 2 SE+, but after a couple of hours I decided to try it driving my Bryston 14B SST....WOW!!!

I'm going today to order either the 301, or hopefully the 500 - either way I will be running without a pre in the future. I have been auditioning CD/SACD players for a while now, tried the Marantz SA7S1 and the Ayre 5xe among a few others....I honestly believe the Mac 201 beats them when run direct, I hope to know soon just how much better the 301 or 500 sounds when run direct.

Really surprised at the previous comment that the Mac masks things, I would comment that the Marantz is missing some details, and that the Ayre is artificial.

Anyway, I'm having a BIG MAC attack!!

Go listen.

Being somewhat familiar with both brands digital equipment I tend to credit more Mtdking comment.
Running direct or not is another matter. If you prefer running direct it usually indicates to weakness in preamplifier. In this case a good passive like TVC may help a lot.