I've never heard the SA-10; just as well since it's beyond my budget. I can't help but think that a significant part of the higher expense compared to the SA KI Ruby is the balanced circuitry. Since the remainder of my system is rca, it's not a concern for me.
But the Ruby...a few weeks back, my beloved Lector .5 tubed-output cd player started acting up. Considering it's age of 15+ years, I decided not to put any more money in its direction. Therefore, I started research for my *last* CD player.
For obvious reasons, in person listening is not an option, so it was necessary for me to rely on past experience, recommendations from friends, and the all-knowing Google.
Long story shorter, I bought the SA KI Ruby with a 30 day return privilege. It's not going back. Right out of the box, I was impressed. It really opened up at about 30 hours. Now that it has nearly 200 hours, it's a safe bet that it's settled in. And it's very good indeed.
Smooth, detailed, 3D, etc. Go down the checklist, it ticks all the boxes. Most of all, it's a joy to hear.
It's also nice that it affords the option to accommodate usb streaming, assuming I go that way in the future.
Thanks to all who posted in this thread. You helped guide me to a winner.
