Keep in mind that the whole issue of which unit 'sounds better' is a holdover from the vacuum tube days of the 1950s when there *were* definite differences in the sound of units. This was because of differing topologies such as triode verses tetrode/pentodes. With solid state, and especially with everyone basicly using the same chip sets now, units all sound very similiar. Of course the advertisers would love to make you believe there are differences. Don't believe me? Try a blindfold test with someone else doing the switching.