difficulty finding CD player match for Magneplanar

Before dumping money into other things, let's start with your original question, were you happy with the sound you were getting from your CAL player, in your system?

I recently picked up a used Jolida JD100, and with a good PC and the right interconnects and tubes, it sounds full, rich, rounded and makes huge beautiful music. It's been a joy to listen to. To date, it's the only digital front end I've tried that allows me comfortably listen to my maggie IIc's without my sub. The difference from my old cdp and a couple of dacs I've recently tried was dramatic enough to sound like I had upgraded to a better amp.

It's easy to make maggies sound bright and thin, with the wrong player, amp or cables. Personally, I would have never considered trying an Arcam, or any other player where some users reported thin or analytical sound in their systems, because I figured if one guy reported "to bright and thin", then that's what I would hear with my stuff. I've never heard anyone faulting the jolida for being thin or too analytical. Maggies natively produce great detail, and using a highly detailed player will get you "detail overload".

Be carful with amps, as well. For the past 3 years, I've been using a vintage Kenwood KA-9100 integrated, a late 70's dual mono beast with 90wpc, with surprisingly good results, first with my SMGa's and now with my IIc's. Well, I just recently picked up a used Musical Fidelity A300 integrated, hoping it would be an upgrade, but I was sorely disapointed. Sure, it does put out more power, and I can play stuff much louder, but the overall sound left much to be desired. After a few weeks of struggling with cable swaps, sub adjustments and speaker placements, I finally gave up and put the kenwood back in, and what a relief.

Since getting the jolida, I can finally sit down and listen to some music, and not be constantly thinking about what I need to try next, to make things sound right. Also, I'm not suffering nearly as bad with some cd's sounding good, and other's bad. I'm getting much more consistant sound accross a wide range of music types and recording qualities.

Isn't it frustrating when people don't listen to your needs? You have enough problems finding a replacement player, and you're gonna have the same problems shopping for "just the right" amp. One thing at a time. As I said earlier, I understand what you're saying about wanting your music to sound full, balanced and authoritative. You can get that without high spl's. You've already experienced it with your current player, so why is it so hard to get the same thing with a different player? I wish I had an answer.

You can get the biggest amp in the world, and still suffer from thin, bright and non-involving sound. Find the player first, and get settled in. You may have to experiment with some different cables to further enhance the sound character you're looking for. Once you're comfortable. with the sound of your system, AGAIN, then you can look into upgrading your amp.

Like I said before, I recently upgraded my amp to something that was supposed to be bigger and better, but ended up disappointed in the overall sound. Yeah, I can play it much louder, but at the expense of losing my well balanced, musical and non fatiguing sound.

I still love my Jolida, and if it broke today, I'd buy another one. Finding the right tubes is critical (and fun). I've tried a few different tubes, and some of them really killed the sound, but I'm pretty much settled in with a particular tube, now. I've been struggling with my system for a few years, but I can finally sit down and enjoy music. I can now listen to some Linkin Park, then jump to some Erich kunzel, and either is enjoyable. The Jolida may not work for you, but I wish I had bought one years ago, instead of a few months ago. I would have saved a lot of headaches.