The Marantz SA10(CD player)/PM10 was the first true hifi system I ever owned. I use it with BW 802D (bi-wired, which for this combination makes quite the difference).
1) The sound strikes a perfect balance between "tubes" and "solid state" having a sweet midrange, extended but non-fatiguing highs, and a powerful deep and fast bass. That makes it shine in all genres of music I’ve thrown at it as well as all types of quality of recording.
2) The soundstage is simply amazing. Deep, and wide (extending well beyond the speakers), with significant height.
3) The PM10 is a beast having being measured in the real World at 600Watts at either 4 or 8 ohms, so it will have no issues with most speakers it will be realistically paired with (it really makes my 802D’s sing!).
But being my first experience with true hifi I thought, "I’m sure there is something better out there". So while I kept (and still have) the SA10/PM10 I plunged into experimenting with other brands.
1) Amplifier: Bryston 4b3 bi-amping the highs of the 802’s with a Bryston 14B3 for the low frequencies with either a Rogue RP7 (stock tubes, Mullards, Telefunkens) and later an RP9. This combo used my SA10 for source and BW for speakers.
2) An All McIntosh system: separates, CD player, speakers. Don’t ask me about the model because I do not remember but either their best or second best line (I listened in a showroom).
Conclusion: I never found something "better". Not even in showrooms. I think once you reach the level of hifi quality the SA10/PM10 give you there is only "different". If you like the sound of the PM 10 enjoy it and save yourself the time and money. If, on the other hand, you want something different (i.e. more extreme) in the warm/bright spectrum then further searching is justified. It was an expensive lesson learned for me. If there is something better for me out there it’s probably tens of times more expensive than this combo.