Advice on Marantz SA-7S1, Esoteric X-05 or Ayre C-5xeMP cd/sacd player

If you look at actually what most of the reviewers own, it's the Ayre.  Mark Michelsen, wes philips, john atkinson, and a few others actually paid their money for the ayre.   the ayre also plays all formats.  you will be looking to purchase sacds and dvd-a's as they sound glorious.  maybe the best one box player there is.  ayre also are generous with their upgrade program.  the mp upgrade is $200.   the downside is it is a small company run by a guy who almost got killed in an accident a couple of years ago.  if he goes, so does the company.
 
esoteric introduces new models every 3 months.  is one model better than another?  they all sound different, not better to my ears.  this kills the resale value.
marantz killed their brand a while back when they got into mid-fi.  it's kind of like mercedes producing a yugo with a mercedes logo.  although their stuff gets reviewed positively occasionally, no audiophiles really are rabid about it.  even if it is good, and you don't have confidence in your taste, you will always be wondering if there is something better.  the brand is dead.
as always, best to listen for yourself, of course.
 

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