SACD or MF A3 24 DAC?

I don't get it. Are you saying the $200 Sony SACD player bested the Musical Fidelity and the Sony SCD-1?

I can't comment on the MF DAC - I only heard it once.
But I too have the Sony SACD player - and it is fabulous at $200!!!!!

How does the ns500 sound withredbook discs? Sacd is nice but so many people have tons of CDs.

It does a good job with Redbook CD's as well. Not as good as some of the top flight players I have had. An outboard DAC can bring the performance up if I feel the need to scratch the itch.

As far as the the $200 Sony besting the SCD-1 and the Musical Fidelity?...yep!

I just don't feel like I have to go out and spend more money on equipment upgrades when the sound has finally arrived. Maybe that has been the problem over the last ten years since I got into this. Since CD's have been my only source I have spent insane amounts of money on equipment. Now, this flimsy little Sony sounds so good I don't feel like it doesn't belong just because it feels so chincey.
I know the format is questionable. I know that people aren't real happy about high priced SACD's. But I paid $16.99 on software for the player. And since there aren't a lot of titles available, it has expanded my appreciation for other kinds of music because it sounds so good.

Does this sound so "puzzling"?

I'm in complete agreement. Both the new Sony 777 and the S9000ES sounded better than the Mark Levinson 39 or the top of the line Cary I auditioned. SACD is so analogue-like, it's so sexy--liquid but detailed. I'm sick of having to choose between yin and yang. I want both--and I heard them both with the sony machines I mentioned.