Thanks for the replies!
I guess now if you'll oblige me, does anyone feel up to playing the "match a new integrated amp to my speakers and cables" game?
Hopefully I'll be able to return the Denon, but I am "stuck" with the CDMs and AP-O9s for now. Obviously price is an issue, but if there's an amazing enough unit, I might throw prudence out the window.
Being forced to choose, this will be a music system, as opposed to HT.
Budget: $400 (less if possible, but perhaps could go to around $600 if it was really, really warranted.)
Now on to the specific replies:
1. Natalie: Uhm, thanks for the vague advice. I'm accepting any donations you're offering to help better my system. In the meantime, I'll spend the money that I can.
2. Pe3046: I think I'm in agreement with you. It's all after-the-fact, tho. I thought my research was rock solid, but maybe I should've Posted (here) Before Purchace.
3. Jameswei: Sadly, I think the Onkyo/lampcord sounds slightly better... Could this be the Denon requiring burn-in time?
4. Gunbei: I wanted the best of both worlds, of course! Heh, yeah... I think I do have the curse--pretty badly, too.
5. Bluefin: Are you really saying to get rid of my cables to match the quality of the Denon? I couldn't recoop any cash from the cables at this point, so I'm hesitant to even consider it. My listening room is not ideal at this point, (building a new home soon) but I've situated the speakers as best I can.
6. Bishopwill: Just to be sure, I mis-wired them, and my head nearly imploded in the sonic vacuum! AAIIIEEE!
7. Rives: Done and Done. I think I'd be interested in one of your Test CDs, as I'm currently using my favorite discs as unquantifiable reference.
8. Chaskelljr2001: "...why would you be using an a/v receiver to anchor your music system???" 1.) I didn't set out to create an exclusive music system 2.) Incorrect interpretation of research / belief in web reviews.
"A change in cable wouldn't hurt matters much either." To a more expensive one? NoCanDo.
"And by the way, how is that Apex DVD Player holding up???" The Apex is my favorite little $69 gadget ever. It plays DVDs, DVD-R, VCD, SVCD, MPEG1s, MP3s, JPGs, and a few other odd formats. You can reprogram the ROM to make it region free, disable Macrovision and burn in a custom-made graphical background. Not very "phile" oriented, but a beautiful little H4xie workhorse.
I guess now if you'll oblige me, does anyone feel up to playing the "match a new integrated amp to my speakers and cables" game?
Hopefully I'll be able to return the Denon, but I am "stuck" with the CDMs and AP-O9s for now. Obviously price is an issue, but if there's an amazing enough unit, I might throw prudence out the window.
Being forced to choose, this will be a music system, as opposed to HT.
Budget: $400 (less if possible, but perhaps could go to around $600 if it was really, really warranted.)
Now on to the specific replies:
1. Natalie: Uhm, thanks for the vague advice. I'm accepting any donations you're offering to help better my system. In the meantime, I'll spend the money that I can.
2. Pe3046: I think I'm in agreement with you. It's all after-the-fact, tho. I thought my research was rock solid, but maybe I should've Posted (here) Before Purchace.
3. Jameswei: Sadly, I think the Onkyo/lampcord sounds slightly better... Could this be the Denon requiring burn-in time?
4. Gunbei: I wanted the best of both worlds, of course! Heh, yeah... I think I do have the curse--pretty badly, too.
5. Bluefin: Are you really saying to get rid of my cables to match the quality of the Denon? I couldn't recoop any cash from the cables at this point, so I'm hesitant to even consider it. My listening room is not ideal at this point, (building a new home soon) but I've situated the speakers as best I can.
6. Bishopwill: Just to be sure, I mis-wired them, and my head nearly imploded in the sonic vacuum! AAIIIEEE!
7. Rives: Done and Done. I think I'd be interested in one of your Test CDs, as I'm currently using my favorite discs as unquantifiable reference.
8. Chaskelljr2001: "...why would you be using an a/v receiver to anchor your music system???" 1.) I didn't set out to create an exclusive music system 2.) Incorrect interpretation of research / belief in web reviews.
"A change in cable wouldn't hurt matters much either." To a more expensive one? NoCanDo.
"And by the way, how is that Apex DVD Player holding up???" The Apex is my favorite little $69 gadget ever. It plays DVDs, DVD-R, VCD, SVCD, MPEG1s, MP3s, JPGs, and a few other odd formats. You can reprogram the ROM to make it region free, disable Macrovision and burn in a custom-made graphical background. Not very "phile" oriented, but a beautiful little H4xie workhorse.