An interesting reality check, tho a rather unpleasant one. My Densen CDP seems to have given up the ghost. So thats another project to add to a long list of things that I have to do... The interesting point is the effect of having to replace it with a Marantz CD63SE sitting in a junkpile. Oh dear..the sound is plain awful. Treble is both glassy AND rounded off! Bass has lost any timing and has become a rumble with no depth. Mid has lost large chunks of detail - probably just as well, considering how the other parts sound. I can honestly say that there is no urge to sit and listen whatsoever with this CDP. Interestingly [for me] the differences are far greater in reverse than they were in a forward jump when I originally upgraded. I might try Densen for a repair, or I might just change - it always was a pain in the ass with no remote and dodgy ergonomics. I've heard the newer models like the XS, and I preferred mine. I think they made quite a few changes internally to the B400 as it was more of a 'prototype on sale'. Mine was about mkII of, maybe, 4 versions AFAIK. I suspect it had a bit of what WM likes about his Wadia's tho I've never had a chance to compare properly.