Need some experienced ears to grow my system

I recently had an opportunity to purchase a MF CD Pre 24 for about $900 (after splitting shipping and paypal), but the deal fell through due to miscommunication and somebody else picked it up instead.

I was wondering if the MF CD Pre is really worth the wait or is there another brand of CD/Pre combo out there I should be considering. Thanks for the input.

While the 555 is indeed powerful it lacks finesse and is anything but liquid on top. The 555 11 was an improvement but still was and still is a good passive sub amp and not reccomemded for a smooth audio presentation . Start there , eveluate the synergy and go from there. There are too many good amps . My first suggestion is a gamut 200.

A tube pre-amp with a ss power amp will give you a warmer sound. J. Gordon Holt, at one time, thought that a tube pre with a ss power amp was the way to go. The bottom will remain tight, but the highs and mids sound less harsh. I have this set-up and have never thought about changing it.

System very solid, will reproduce just about anything fairly well at lower and higher volumes. Decent extension above and below, decent tonality and good detail.

BUT, I could use a little less high end briteness/harshness(especially at louder volumes), sweeter mids and always a tighter bottom end.

I wish the systmem was a little more engaging, like I was there. Not much presence. Sound stage is very flat. Yes I have played extensively with speaker placement and I'm sure the large table with audio gear and 27"box TV between but behind speaks is not helping. I'm working on eliminating this mass between speaks by putting TV on cart and moving to a smaller table for audio gear or putting it in the wall.

So I've been thinking about a new to me amp and pre. Maybe a Mccormack DNA 1 or 125. I can pretty much use up the adcom (rated @ 200 wpc rms I believe) so me thinks I need a fair amount of power. Not sure about pre, maybe tube. I assume an integrated is not the way to go? (By the way my room is 12'x 20' x 8' tall with speaks along short wall)

Anyways, sorry I did not finish last night. Be gentle, I'm learning or at least trying to!

Thanks

What do your ears tell you is wrong with your set up, if anything? Whats lacking? Your system excells in flexibility which is a definate plus

what kind of sound do you like?