Aurum Acoustics Integris CDP

I have listened to both extensively side by side and I own both players (Capitole Reference). Both are superlative players, however if I had to pick only one, I would choose the Aurum. I have listened to both players in a variety of systems including Edge and VAC electronics, and SF Stradivari's and Hansen King's. We have put the Aurum, Cap Ref and DCS P8 head to head in these systems, and fairly consistently the Aurum edged out the other two players. I don't claim to know why this difference exists, but I suspect it has do with the tube output of the Cap ref versus the solid state output of the Aurum. Again, these differences are not major, but among the 4 of us listening at the time we all preferred the Aurum. The Aurum is more detailed, has a more tight bass response and overall was more musical. The Cap ref has a more bloomy bass response and is not as detailed in its presentation. It is an appropriate choice for an all solid state system.
Another player on par with the Aurum is the Audio Research CD7- outstanding, but I don't need another CDP!

Ah023,
I used a mix of solid state and tube equipment. The main system was composed of Edge power and pre amps, with the SF Strads as our main speaker. We did substitute the battery powered Edge pre with an all tube VAC. The exact model numbers are unknown to me as I was not interested in the electronics. We also tried the Capitole with the Integris 300B Active system, and found that it was not synergistic. The Integris CDP player is obviously a great match with the 300B Active system, and I in fact purchased this entire set up. I have found as every one else will tell you that synergy is the key to putting a great system together, but I did not want to experiment with thousands and thousands of $$$ to see what would work, nor do I have the time to be buying and selling equipment on the 'Gon. The Aurum system has synergy built in it and it is appreciated by those who do not wish to experiment with components and cables (or at least to a minor degree only). Derrick Moss has done this work for you. My retailer and myself figure it would cost 2 to 3 times to surpass the Aurum system's musicality.
The Capitole, btw is very synergistic with Rowland gear. I am going to use mine either for a second system or upgrade it to a Prestige SACD player to use with the Aurum.