Sony 9000es or Musical Fidelity A3 CDP.

I partially agree with Nat on this one. But what I would do is buy the Sony and then buy an EVS or Bel Canto DAC. Why? Because the Sony sound is lacking, but the transport portion is clearly superior to the other choices, if not superior to players costing a 1000 bucks more. Then after I lived with it for a while I'd hit for the mods by Dan Wright. I did an extensive A/B with the 9000 and the 777 multichannel SACD player, and believe the foreground to be equal. But the background, that was another story and the 777 blew away the 9000 (of course I'm only talking a SCAD comparison, not redbook). Good luck, go for the Sony!

Dolphin: yep. soundstage depth.
NaT: I'm assuming that the person wants a DVD and Sacd capablility. For many of us, because of pricing, we've got to knock off two/three birds with one stone. That's why I like the gradual approach of the 9000 with a DAC eventually, and then the mods. It gives me two or three years in which to afford something special. I don't agree about the Rega planet being better than the Bel Canto. Why? System synergy for me. My components gained alot of liquidity and subtle nuance. I auditioned a Planet at home and it didn't fit my system needs. Now if a person doesn't want DVD or Sacd then by all means I agree, throw that extra 1k to the Jupiter, which I found to be a very expressive machine. Haven't heard the MF A3 so I can't comment.