I see this thread has been resurrected. FWIW, I audition my Marantz PM15S2 for several hours against a McIntosh MA6300 that was approximately the same output into a pair of Sonus Faber Cremona loudspeakers. I walked out of the store with the Marantz and it wasn't due to the PM15S2 being $1500 less either.
I would say the Marantz reference gear, the stuff built at their reference factory in Japan, compares very favorably if you want solid state. In all fairness to McIntosh, they make both and the MA6300 was their entry level integrated.