I listen to records 95% of the time and didn't even think to use my CD player with the rm10--until today. To answer the leading question of this thread: the 35 watts of this amp is more than sufficient for Vandersteens in a sizeable room. I have my passive preamp at 10 o'clock and I can't imagine wanting it any louder--or better. A Love Supreme never sounded better on my system. Earlier I was listening to the the Bob Ludwig remaster of Leonard Cohen songs and was moved beyond reason. These CD's have always sounded good but good grief I was in for a pleasant surprise. I had the privilege of hearing Cohen live a few years back in LA, and I don't hesitate to say that the emotional connection I had listening today was nearly equivalent to that live performance.
I am surprised by this as, to be honest, I've been somewhat disappointed with my vinyl playback with this amp. There are a lot of changes going on in my vinyl rig so I'm not drawing any conclusions.
At any rate, if my cheapie CD player can produce this sound then maybe I won't continue dumping untold dollars into vinyl. Or: I'll just blame the phono stage and continue on.