I don't know if this will help, but I own the SA8001 and used to have the CE595. The Sony is a good unit, but I always preferred Scarlet Book on it. I think Sony bumped SACD output up 3dB over Red Book (or something like that) so a comparison between the layers is tough.
For Red Book, I find that the Marantz is smoother, more refined and more detailed than the Sony.
Another benefit of the Marantz is the built-in dedicated headphone amp. Marantz actually put one in for us and it's not bad. If I were on a budget, I'd probably just get a SA5001 and a pair of headphones.
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UNCLE ERIK
Vinyl, Tubes & Grado
Orbe SE -> SME IV -> Fi Yph -> Zana Deux
RS-1, HP-2, HF-1, K-1000, K-701, K-501, K-340, K-240DF, HD-650, HD-600, HD-414, DT48, DT880, MDR-SA5000, ATH-6, Aperio Alpha
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