As a CD player, in general, the Music Hall is superior. I really can't think of any area Sony is superior - aside from bass.
The imaging of the Music Hall seems fine. Of course, my reference is probably thrown off kilter by the fact that I am using OTL monoblocks and satellite speakers having a pyramidal shape. Along with my preamp, the amps, and the speakers are masters at imaging. Put them together, and I am not sure how much the Music Hall is playing into that system.
My friend who owns the Music Hall and the Jolida could not get past how great he thought the imaging was in that system.
I apologize for not being very informative, but like I said, I cannot really gauge the Music Hall in such a system. I will say this, I have heard the player in many other systems, and it has always acquitted itself very well.
When my friend who I just mentioned was auditioning speakers over the summer, we were listening to a pair of JMlabs Chorus speakers, using a Cambridge D500SE player. The sound just lacked any slam or excitement. It was quite homogeneous. I asked the salesperson if we could switch to the Music Hall, as I felt that was a limiting factor here. He was an audiophile jumping big into the hobby, after a 20 year hiatus. He told me that he thought I was crazy to think a CD player could make a difference. But, lo and behold, the Music Hall opened up the sound a tremendous amount. The dynamics improved immeasurably.
As far as the Sony goes, it also seems to image well. However, I cannot say it is a champ. My Jadis amplifier and the Fried's MARS System also image extremely well.
