Kudos to Cable Company and Jena Labs

I thought I had an insurmountable problem - a used Atma-sphere Mk 2.2 upgraded by Jena Labs with their wire and new Karma C3.2 speakers that in the first stanza of Nora Jones Come Fly with me sounded like a 10 WPC cheap receiver - that was how clipped and distorted her voice was! - so I called everyone I could find - it being a Saturday, I managed to reach Steve Aug at the Cable Company, who wisely suggested that it couldnt be the amps as it was in both channels - I knew it wasnt the speakers, as my Totem Signature 1s sounded the same, hooked up - and thought it was the preamp. Jennifer at Jena labs said the same, but as she didn't know the design of Mark Levinson's Ref 32, she suggested I try a different preamp to isolate the problem. Instead, I re-read the entire ML manual and ended up reducing the gain on the input from 18 db to 0 db and, Voila! - magical, undistorted sound.
2 lessons: Many People in the audio industry are helpful and kind even when there's nothing in it for them - both spent a long, long time with me on the phone - thank you! - and the other a warning to owners of ML gear - if you are using it with OTL amps, they are very sensitive to input current and will distort if it is too high. Also, you have to crank up the volume to get good listening levels. I guess manufacturers make equipment mostly to use with their own equipment and research is necessary before combining them. But now the sound is magnificent............