RV, to add to the good suggestions above I'll mention that one thing I've found to be very useful in diagnosing sonic anomalies, as well as determining if it is the recording or the system that is responsible for them, is to have a headphone and headphone amp in my system.
In normal use a headphone amp would be connected to a tape output of your preamp, which would exclude the power amp, the speakers, the room, and most of the preamp circuitry from contributing to what you are hearing. For experimental purposes, though, it could also be connected to the preamp's main outputs, or to the output of a source component, or even (using a speaker-level to line-level converter) to the power amp outputs.
A good low priced headphone I can recommend based on personal experience is the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x ($149 at B&H). I have no specific recommendations for a headphone amp, though. (I use Stax electrostatic phones in my main system, which require specialized amplification that is not suitable for conventional dynamic headphones).
Good luck. Best regards,
-- Al
In normal use a headphone amp would be connected to a tape output of your preamp, which would exclude the power amp, the speakers, the room, and most of the preamp circuitry from contributing to what you are hearing. For experimental purposes, though, it could also be connected to the preamp's main outputs, or to the output of a source component, or even (using a speaker-level to line-level converter) to the power amp outputs.
A good low priced headphone I can recommend based on personal experience is the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x ($149 at B&H). I have no specific recommendations for a headphone amp, though. (I use Stax electrostatic phones in my main system, which require specialized amplification that is not suitable for conventional dynamic headphones).
Good luck. Best regards,
-- Al