I would go with the Music Hall MMF-25! I looked at both
players and thought the Music Hall had a better transport
and build quality. Also, there is a recent thread on this
board that mentions several failures of the Cambridge 500SE.
I also listened to the current Rega Planet. A very
good quality player - but a higher price point - and quite
frankly I do not like the top loading mechanism. It requires
space on the top shelf of your rack for easiest use - and
as someone who has been in the television industry since
the early 1980s - it reminds me of some of the old top
loading VCRs I used in the past.
The television industry moved on to front loading VCRs
in the mid-1980s for a reason - more accurate tape positioning and better reliability.
players and thought the Music Hall had a better transport
and build quality. Also, there is a recent thread on this
board that mentions several failures of the Cambridge 500SE.
I also listened to the current Rega Planet. A very
good quality player - but a higher price point - and quite
frankly I do not like the top loading mechanism. It requires
space on the top shelf of your rack for easiest use - and
as someone who has been in the television industry since
the early 1980s - it reminds me of some of the old top
loading VCRs I used in the past.
The television industry moved on to front loading VCRs
in the mid-1980s for a reason - more accurate tape positioning and better reliability.