Ayre CX7-E vs Rega Saturn; your thoughts please

I listened to the 840c briefly prior to picking up a CX-7e and they are not really in the same league. If the Ayre hadn't worked out the Rega was on my short list along with the Linn Majik.

The nice thing about the Ayre is that it now can be upgraded to mp version.

Second the CX-7e. It is already a very fine sounding player in the evolution ("e") form and I hear that it is significantly better with the recently announced MP upgrade.

As Cpk points out, Ayre is constantly looking for ways to improve the sound of their equipment and always offer current owners very fair prices on resulting upgrades. Their equipment does sound better when using the balanced XLR connections, so keep that in mind when choosing.

Not precisely what you asked but essentially very similar.....
With redbook the (VSE/Custom Analogue) Uber Clocked Saturn simply sounds musical compared to the stock Ayre CX5-E which sounds clockwork.

Not even the slightest competition without considerations if you appreciate an analogous presentation:

Saturn=Fluidity, full blooded tone and timing
Ayre=hard mechanical articulation...

... different horses for diametrically opposed courses !