Thanks everyone who responded to my thread. Yeah, I kind of know the speakers are problematic--you should read the original stereophile review of these, the company literally sold hundreds of pairs of these these based on that review alone, but they are probably out of business, now, not sure. I have an old AR sp-8 mk II laying around, I could try that. Regarding efficiency, I can't even turn the CL-60 up to 4 in my room without leaving, so that's not really a problem, plenty of headroom, too. I may try the bi-amp to stiffen up the bass a bit, not selling the OPPO--you have to hear it in your system to realize how good this little 1K player is. I also may hook up my Mapleknoll TT to see if the analog front end is any softer. I still like the idea of the Hovland, but have never heard one in person. The other thing I forgot to mention is that I am using 12ga romex for cable now, which is probably good for the bass but terrible for the highs--this may also be a source of glare. Thanks, guys, for all the advice, really appreciate it. Ed