The 588 is bright with an odd mid-bass bump. Head-to-head (on a $60k reference system) the 508-24 beat the 588 hands down. I'm not sure if there was something wrong with the 588 because is sounded so different, not in a good way, to the other CD players on hand (Krell KPS-28, Levinson 39, 508-24). The unit was broken in but it never lost the etched, breathy sound or the bass resonance. On the other hand the 508-24 is a quite a nice sounding player with great dynamics, detail and tonal balance.
