Go with what you love; music.
I have to say the same as the ones above and yes I would have to be included as one of those so called experts but after playing this game for quite a while and then taking a break from it, I'm realizing that listening to the music is the most important thing and what whatever gets you to sit down for the longest periods of time and just relax listening to music, smiling without wanting to take breaks is what you want. I say go for what you think is musical.
I've been striving for so many years to get the most out my system and making sure my equipment would give me all the information possible from the CD with all the laundry list of tricks that audiophiles talk about that I should have. Well, I ended up achieving a lot of that but found I was only listening to music for short periods (1/2hr) and was getting fatiguing even though I was mesmerized for the first 10mins or so. The short story is I ended up with some equipment by mistake and I never thought I would have liked it but then realized I'm smiling more often and I'm playing music all the time. I'm now less concerned about the equipment and instead figuring out how to get more music to listen to.
If you go back to audition both systems, you may want to ask them to disconnect the Sub to get a better idea of how the SS equipment sounds with the Auditors. Subs have a huge way of effecting the overall presentation and may mask the sound/performance of the equipment. Without it the SS equipment will be more naked with one less link in the chain and more likely to reveal how it sounds. Also compare the room size to yours and do a clap test to compare the liveliness to your room. Sorry for the ramble.
Good luck with your search, the pieces you listed are both very worthy for consideration. Cheers
