Doug, above gives good advice re: a tube pre-amp-- it's an approach I totally agree with. If you want a smoother, but still inexpensive CD player, I'd check out Rotel and NAD. BTW, there are some very good inexpensive DACs now available if you can't afford the Bel Canto. Musical Fidelity from Audio Advisor, MSB, and some others can be had for low bucks. Cheers. Craig.
Thanks for advice on smooth amp!
I wanted to thank everyone who checked in with their opinions on what I should do to smooth my system out. I realize that there is much more to think about than just the amp! Unfortunately being on a grad student's budget severely limits my ability to make changes (and I failed to mention my budget limits in my previous post). That being said, I may consider trying out a new CD-only front end, as this, ostensibly, is the weak link in my system. Perhaps a new player, as DAC's tend to be more expensive I think. We shall see... Again, thanks to everyone for helping me out! djjp