How good is the Musical Fidelity A5?

http://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/m.pl?forum=digital&n=99126&review=1

The A5 to my ears is indeed better than the new 303-300 .It brings out a lot of fine detail in the cd's, and has amzing dynamics on those type of passages.The only cold chills this player gives are goose bumps.For some reason, previous MF players become highly sought after.This thing is less expensive, and WAY better than any before it, and I owned a TV and a 308cd.

How is the A5 different from the 308, besides the obvious tubes?

I have this CDP and really like that it is not sterile at all. It throws a great soundstage and all around is a very nice sounding player. I couldn't audition the Audio Aero Prima or Lector players that I was also considering but the A5 put an end to the search.

I now have the A5 and IMO this is an extremely good machine. Once it is on for a few hours sterile is the last word that descibes the sound. There is almost nothing to complain about. For reference, I owned many machines in the past several years and each had much to complain about. Here are a few: Cary 303/300 Simm Equinox Marantz SA-11 Naim CD5/Flatcap Esoteric DV-50 ARC CD3MK2 Wadia 860X. The A5 delivers a well balanced sound, deep far back soundstage, excellent dynamics, very good extension and definition into the highs/lows, very good imaging, fast and quite transport.......hard to go wrong with this one.