Hi,
I have an A3, which is now being used as a transport feeding my naim dac.
The dac, is more detailed, and easier to listen to / musical, but it costs £2000.
When I auditioned the DAC, my opinion was, its good, but the A3 is a high standard already, and I took the DAC away, I didnt think, oh this is rubbish. I bought the DAC because I decided to treat myself.
As for the new MF gear, I loved the A5 series, it was just so enjoyable to listenable. Something What Hifi picked up on, in their review on the £1800 X series CD player. If the new stuff is similar, it should be good. I havent seen a bad review yet, of their new stuff.