Thanks to all of you for your comments. Due to location I can't listen to any of these speakers, so your advice is very helpful!
OK, any advice on how to choose among CS6, CS7.x, P-10, without listening to any of them? They seem to be equally loved by their owners.
RCPrince:
I will definitely try removing that cable. Thanks for a good insight.
Gullahisland:
I agree that disk is bright, but on some gear its tolerable, and others its not. Also, I love the BAT gear. The pre- and extra cables do add a bit of a veil (compared to CDP straight into the amp), but overall I prefer it over the trade-offs. The VK-500 is in an entirely different class from the rest of the gear. 250w and it weighs 100 lbs; it has outstanding control and authority. I have 0 complaints about the amp (well maybe it's weight). I was stunned by the improvement over my previous well-liked McCormack DNA-1. I preferred it over the Classe CA-400 on my friend's all Classe/MIT/Avalon Radian HC system. IMHO, the BAT has more control and isn't as dark.
Karls:
I felt the same way, but recently tried an 830 and found it to be only a small improvement over existing gear. I decided a better model was required to justify an upgrade. Compared to existing, the Wadia's bass was noticably less defined, while the highs were sweeter and it had better presence. I definitely liked a balanced I/C better than RCA. And going directly into the amp was a revelation in terms of taking a "dirty pane" out of the picture, but the bass was even worse without the pre. On the whole the difference wasn't enought to justify the cost.
BTW, although she hears equipment differences better then I, wife thinks I've gone over the edge with this next round of upgrades. I keep telling her its not how much I spend, but how much I wanted to spend by didn't: see how much I saved....