Hi Amp,
Had a delay which I did not receive my cd player until today, 11/2. I connected the player and put in Robbie Robertsons and played Fallen Angel. I thought something was wrong with my speakers as the bass was incredible. I had never heard the beginning to this song like this player brought out. I also listened to parts of Grover Washington Jr.'s: Winelight and Donald Fagen: The Nightfly. Every cd I could hear something new. This player is impressive.
I like the imaging and the soundstage. There is space between the instruments and they can be defined in space. I can tell where the drummer is in relationship to the vocalist, etc. On one of the quitier passages in Winelight, I could hear each individual drumstick hitting the drumskin. I am hearing so much new information, that I will have to listen to some of my favorites several times before I can really tell you what all of the differences are. My system hasn't sounded so good since I sold my Linn lp-12 turntable.
I had listened to the new Rega Apollo and a Quad and the $5000 Audio Research CD3. The Music Hall has better bass than the Rega with just as nice mid and hi frequencies. Nothing beats the Audio research, but I really don't have a need for a $5000 cd player.
Hope you find this helpful, James