Thanks, found this pretty easily which indeed confirms that the Canon 9500 (pigment) has wider gamut than 9900 (dye). Still need to do some research on the dMax - but it might be time to move to a 17" pigment printer with the next generation. Not sure if the 12-ink Lucia EX is a reasonable proposition on a 17" printer but here's hoping...
I believe the link shows the 9500 Canon pigment based printer exceeds the Canon
9000 dye based printer, not the 9900 which is an Epson pigment based printer. (guessing you just made a typo). The Epson (and from what I've seen so far most likely the new Canon ipf series printers) approach 900,000 in gamut volume (and maybe exceed that in some papers) where as the dye based canon is around 750,000. (EDIT: thought I would add this after looking it up, according to Epson's media specs for their Hot Press Bright paper, the gamut volume for their profile on an 11880 is over 1,000,000 and on the 9900 is around 1,150,000. )
The 3880 may not quite equal the 7900 but will exceed the dye based printer. As far as "blacker" blacks, perhaps so, but bottom line is the new pigment printers have terrific blacks, and while they might not technically measure as dark, it really isn't an issue.
The pigment printers perform better on far more media types as well.
As far as the OP, I agree with the other posters that the 3880 would be a great choice. Another consideration based on the post might even be a slightly used or perhaps refurbished 3800 ... it's a great printer and results will be pretty sweet for less money.