Price Paid:  $350.00 from Audiogon

Summary:
Great cd player!Great sound,and I love the hdcd when I can use it.Ive owned it for a year now and no complaints.

Strengths:
sound

Weaknesses:
remote

Price Paid:  $695.00 from Sound Odyssey

Summary:
I purchased this modified unit new from Sound Odyssey which has a slightly different mod package than Underwood HiFi. Instead of replaceing many of the caps and resistors, Brice from Sound Odyssey installs an aftermarket clock (Trichord 4) along with some other mods like the diodes and opamps. The result? Awesome. I have tried a few digital sources recently like the Benchmark DAC1 and the SACDmods modified Sony C222ES. This thing beats the modified C222ES and is right up there with the Benchmark.

Later, I had Beice put in a NEver Connected power supply for the clock and this thing really sang! Any remaining digital harshness was gone and this thing just took on a slightly relaxed pace but with a much bigger soundstage and awesome transient dynamics. It has great attack and resolution and for the money has been able to keep up with the big league players. Certainly a bargain at $695 there is NO WAY you can go wrong for that price. Also, the aftermarket clock is a huge jump in resolution and crystal-clear non-fatiguing highs.

To the guy who uses his unit as a transport for his DAC 1: You won't believe how much better the DAC 1 sounds coming from a transport with a clock mod. Regrdless of Benchmark's "jitter-free" claims on the DAC 1, it sounded markedly better when I fed it a signal from my modified Sony which had an LC Audio XO3 clock in it. These clocks put out almost zero jitter. Huge difference in resolution and dynamics.

Strengths:
attack and resolution
great imaging and soundstaging
has an IEC outlet so you can use a hot rod power cord

Weaknesses:
I think the stock player is probably good but you're really missing out on great sound if you don't have it modified
The remote is lame but acceptable

Similar Products Used:
SACDmods Sony SCD-C222ES
Benchmark DAC1
Ack! dAck!
Marantz CC4000OSE

Price Paid:  $500.00 from Access to Music

Summary:
I puchased the Music hall CD player as a replacement for the BAT VK D5 that I sold several months earlier. What can I say that has not aleardy been articulated in previous reviews. This is a great player and responds readily to mods. I did the mods myself and they definately take this player to the next level. My latest mod was the purchase of a Benchmark DAC1 and to use the MMF as a transport. I replaced the crappy RCA digital output jack with a high quality BNC. Hooked up a White Rose digital cable and WOW. As good as the modded MMF was, the Benchmark DAC with the MMF's Philips transport is in my not so humble opinion comes amazingly close to the very best CD playback available today. With the Benchmark at $975 plus the MMF at about $500, this combo can compete with almost anything at any price.

Strengths:
See above

Weaknesses:
None at this price point!

Similar Products Used:
BAT VK D5

Price Paid:  $550.00 from Audio Advisor

Summary:
I will have to agree with the majority concerning this transport. What an excellent piece of machinery. My previous CD player was a Mission PCM-7000, purchased in 1987...yes it never stop playing wonderfully. I decided to try the MMF-25 more because of their reputation; I had never heard one of their CD players. Out of the box, I was amazed by it weight. This transport is heavy and large. After hooking it to my Sunfire system, I wondered if I was going to be disappointed. Not to worry, the music was full, lacking nothing in the way of reproduction. I felt so blessed that I got far more than my monies worth. Paired with Kimber Kable "Hero" series interconnects, this player performed like a Diva.

Strengths:
Tonal Excellence without any degree of coloration. HDCDs and those recorded with excellence in mind will simply take your breath away.

Weaknesses:
Remote control needs some attention. Poorly recorded CDs will sound bad, this player will not mask shortcoming due to poor recording.

Similar Products Used:
Mission PCM 7000.

Price Paid:  $0.00 from Audiogon

Summary:
I posted an earlier review of this product in which I just gushed all over the place. Well 8 or 9 months on and I feel the same way. I just thought that I would update with regard to HDCD media. Anyone who has played HDCD needs no introduction to its virtues. I have found a pretty steady supply of HDCDs on ebay. You have to really search for the classical and good jazz but they are there. The other source is Linn music of Scotland. There stuff is atad expensive as is just about all CD media in the U.K. However their reproductions are just fabulous.

My son just did not believe that there was any difference between CD players so I ran a test for him. We had a head to head contest between the Harman Kardon CDR -30 and the Music Hall. He was instantly convinced of the difference and of the far superior qualities of the Music Hall. I'm going to have this machine modified with the next year. I'll report back at thet time