sony xa5400es or marantz sa15s2?

I had the Marantz Pearl SACD Player for 2 weeks.It sounded warm & dark to me.I was unable to enjoy the music.
I now have XA5400es and it does everything right.The balance,colors & musicallity all strike a chord.
I am very satisfied with it.SACD's & regular cd's sound equally good

AP

I chose the Marantz 15s2 and have been happy with it. Haven't heard the Sony but they have a great reputation.

I don't think one is necessarily better than the other but one will balance out "your" system better to suit your taste. It will be hard for any of us to know which one that will be. Good luck.

I would say from my exposure to both that the Sony is better regardless of system.

Fishing716, no argument, just food for thought:

What if someones system was on the bright side and they were looking to tone it down? You or I might change speakers or amps but if a person doesn't want to do that and just wants a new cd player, would the Marantz be a better call?

BTW, I haven't heard the Pearl but many have reported, like you, that it is on the dark side. I have the 15s2 and 11s2 in 2 of my systems and don't find either too dark for me.

I don't think "toneing" it down with a marantz will work.
It's not very musical regardless of dark or bright