I hate to just jump on the bandwagon, but what the heck. Dump that integrated and get a decent passive preamp. I have an Audio Synthesis Passion (pricey but superb) and I can detect every slight change in the rest of my system (Cal Delta/Theta Basic IIIa, Golden Tube 300B SE, ProAc 3.8, Harmonic Tech ICs and Analysis Plus Silver Oval speaker cable). Preamps do WAY more work with a signal that most people think, and they can muck it up or let it through. That said, I must confess that the sound of my brand new Toshiba 2200 DVD player is very good. It misses the subtle things (hall ambiance, full harmonic structures, three dimensional images, etc.)but for $260 bucks it is a very respectable sounding unit in its own right. Much better than any sub $1000 CD player I've ever heard.
Am I deaf?
I've got three CD outfits here on loan from my dealer. A Linn Ikemi, a Bel Canto DAC 1 running off a Pioneer 525 DVD player and a Classe CDP. They all sound almost EXACTLY the same. After hours of switching cables, power cords and anything else I could think of, I did form a slight preference. And that was for the Pioneer DVD running straight into my amp! This freaked me out so much that I subjected my wife to the same test. She also preferred the DVD player. What in the hell is going here? Associated Equipment: Classe CAP 100 integrated amp, Sennheiser HD600 headphones, Von Schewikert VR3 speakers, Cardas and Kimber cables.