I once had the same problems as you now experience . I had spent money on well respected equipment that did not please me . It sounded good in the store but soon after bringing it home I did not like it nearly as much ! I discovered that some CD's were now unlistenable . So I found this forum , read , asked a bunch of dumb questions and learned .
I then took this knowledge and listened to as many equipment setups as was possible . I soon learned a few things .
First , I much prefered speakers with soft dome tweeters rather than the metal ones I had purchased . This alone was probably worth 30% - 40% percent of an improvement of my listening exsperience !
Second , I prefered tubes to SS . I started with one in the pre section of an integrated amp . It was a little better . Then I moved to a tubed CDP , another improvement . Then I went all of the way with a tubed integrated amp . Much much better . I can now listen to CD's that were relegated to the 'for sale' stack and enjoy them !
And it is possible to get detail and warmth together without loosing musicality . I found this out with the purchase of a second Int. amp that had better extension , detail and low level resolution . I am now rolling tubes to increase the warmth .
I think of tuning , in the audio world , the same as tuning in the automotive world . It does not fix a malfunctioning setup . Tuning is what you do to get the last few percent improvement to maximize what you already have and enjoy . You wouldn't put a new set of hi-performace wheels and tires on a car that runs so poorly it won't get you around the block ! So you wouldn't put new cables on an audio system that you deem unlistenable !
If I were to do it again , I think that I would go the all tube route first . Sort of one extreme to the other . Then if it was too much back out of it one piece at a time . YMMV .
No flames please , just my opinion here .
Good luck .
I then took this knowledge and listened to as many equipment setups as was possible . I soon learned a few things .
First , I much prefered speakers with soft dome tweeters rather than the metal ones I had purchased . This alone was probably worth 30% - 40% percent of an improvement of my listening exsperience !
Second , I prefered tubes to SS . I started with one in the pre section of an integrated amp . It was a little better . Then I moved to a tubed CDP , another improvement . Then I went all of the way with a tubed integrated amp . Much much better . I can now listen to CD's that were relegated to the 'for sale' stack and enjoy them !
And it is possible to get detail and warmth together without loosing musicality . I found this out with the purchase of a second Int. amp that had better extension , detail and low level resolution . I am now rolling tubes to increase the warmth .
I think of tuning , in the audio world , the same as tuning in the automotive world . It does not fix a malfunctioning setup . Tuning is what you do to get the last few percent improvement to maximize what you already have and enjoy . You wouldn't put a new set of hi-performace wheels and tires on a car that runs so poorly it won't get you around the block ! So you wouldn't put new cables on an audio system that you deem unlistenable !
If I were to do it again , I think that I would go the all tube route first . Sort of one extreme to the other . Then if it was too much back out of it one piece at a time . YMMV .
No flames please , just my opinion here .
Good luck .