Linn Ikemi vs. Arcam FMJ CD33

I'm not sure if the Arcam is out yet so I haven't heard it.
What I would say is if you are in the States then the Ayre CX-7 is certainly a better buy than the Ikemi-I tried the Ikemi in my system and the Ayre was well ahead of it on every level.
Even here in the UK where the Ayre equates to £3k then I would say even with the Ikemi at £1k less ( list price)that it was still a better buy.
Of course ideally you must audition yourself and preferably in your own system.
Hope this helps.

I have not heard the Ayre CX-7 yet but did audition the Ikemi against the FMJ23, Cary 303,Metronome (forget the model), Marantz SA14 (on redbook)and Meridian 588. I preferred the Ikemi, especially with jazz, acoustic and vocals, it's a very smooteh sounding player. The others sounded too bright in comparison for my taste.

Warning: if you get the Ikemi, make sure you've got a good equipment rack, understand vibration management, and have good room acoustics. The Ikemi is a *very* light weight player and I think poorly designed for the task of vibration management.

I purchased an Ikemi about 2 months ago. I've been constantly tweaking and improving my set up and still have a way to go. That said, fully considering the bad...

I have no regrets.

This player is amazing and deeply enjoyable.

Tony's right Ikemi does sound it's best on jazz,acoustic and vocals but to my ears sounded lacking with rock and more complex recordings.....

I tried the Ikemi vs the CD23 (Ikemi won hands down in every way - I have not heard the CD33), the Cary 301 (Cary smooth, Ikemi smooth, I thought Cary lacked dynamics and some amount of detail but it could have been "too much tube" in the system), the Meridian 508.24 and 588 (I liked Meridians better on complex music but note that of all players I tested, the Meridian was probably most like the Linn), the Marantz SA-1 and SA-14 (I liked the Marantz players better but if not broken in, they can be "bright"). I also tried the Sony SCD-1 and SCD 777ES. I ended up with the 777 because it worked in my system very well on redbook AND SACDs. If it were ONLY a redbook test, I ~probably~ would have chosen the Meridian. I tested all of these players with VTL tube amps, a passive attenuator, and electrostatic-hybrid speakers.

I agree with comments above that the Ikemi was at its best on a relative basis on jazz. Nonetheless, for the same amount of money, there were other players I preferred.
Given what others have written about other players (EMC1, AA CapitoleMkI, and others) in a relatively similar price range if used, I would include them in a list of potential candidates as well.
JM02YMMV.
Travis