Do I have to buy all new CDs?

Unfortunately there is no easy answer to your question. If you are a music lover first, the audio system is only a means to an end, and you are always going to be stuck with bad sounding software whether it is in the digital or analog format. The problem is, and always has been, the recording industry. To suggest that switching to records and a good turntable as a solution to your problem is silly given the fact that many analog recordings are not so good either. Overall, I too prefer the sound of my turntable (Well-Tempered Labs Reference with low output Grado Reference cartridge) over my digital system (Audio Logic DAC with CEC transport), but I do own some CD's that sound great and the Audio Logic comes as close to the sound of analog as you will find. And I would agree with Cornfedboy that the quality of CD's have certainly improved in recent years. If you have a recording you particularily enjoy you might look to see if it has been remastered in the last couple of years. But even then it really depends on how good of a recording it was in the first place and how good the engineers who are mastering it are. If it's the music you really love (rather than just the audio equipment) you will have to take the good with the bad. That said there are many different options available to you in the equipment realm that will help you to achieve sound that you prefer. Perhaps you might prefer a speaker that is a bit less revealing than the ML. You did not mention what you are using for a CD player and that may be a big problem. You might like to consider a Sunfire preamp to go along with your amp. It has very good tone controls which can be removed from the circuit when you don't need them. I could go on and on with suggestions, but as I said there is no easy answer. This is a great hobby, but it takes time and experience to find what you like and what works well together. There is no one system that works for everyone and spending lots of money is not the answer. Hopefully you will have access to a dealer or two that will let you try many differnt things in your home. Hope this helps.

BLbloom, I think you probably addressed the problem most accurately. I think my amp and speakers mate well together (the Sunfire was recommended when I contacted Martin Logan). But I have another thread that sought suggestions for a matching tube pre-amp. My adcom-gfp 565 is used in bypass to avoid degradation, but after all I've read on tubes that will be my next purchase. The second weak link is using a Sony 7700 for a Cd player. I'm new at this and working on a budget, so the sony offered the best of both worlds at the time (Quality and Affordability). My room is also very limiting , but I cannot change that. And I am not willing to change interconnects when I change genres of CDs (That seems excessive, to me.) Most of my CDs are more than 5 years old, and mostly rock. But lately I have been listening mostly to acoustics (James Taylor and Eric Clapton.) Hopefully the tube pre-amp will work the magic that everyone seems to say it will, and as for a dedicated CD player, I'm saving my pennies. Thanks for your inputs!

Are you saying, if I upgrade my system to get higher resolution I might not be happy because of the type of music I listen to, rock & elec blues being processed so much? Do these types of music really lend themselves to high resolution? I have also been wondering if this same situation would pertain to tube vs ss, tube lending it's soundstage to classical and ss lending it's soundstage to rock?

Wsmatau- Pre-amp should help dramatically, but would also second the thought that CDs mastering/re-mastering has improved dramatically. Especially with older rock titles. You might want to consider a monthly replacement program as you find re-masters. And then you can probably get $5 each used, so it shouldn't be a major $ drain.

I use the Mcintosh C42 preamp with my Martin Logan Ascents. I also alternate a MC 352 amp and a EAR tube amp for different presentations and fun. The eq adjustments on the 42 are a godsend for different recordings and room variations. Check it out. It is really versatile and extremely quiet .