A guy on AK just posted that he's owned the following:

ASL Phono
McCormack Phono
Hagerman Cornet II ( modded )
Juicy Music Tercel
Audible Illusions
K&K Phono

And the JD9 is better than all except for the K&K. He feels that once modded the JD9 competes with the $1300 K&K.