looking for a warm ss amp....

You will NEVER get the sound you want until you lose the Denon completly. Since the pre amp is more important than the amp, why would you want to use part of the Denon??

Save money on cabling and get a good Integrated, Mac 6500, Audio Refinement Complete, YBA etc.

I have compared at great length the Pass Aleph 3, Blue Circle BC22 and BAT VK200 and feel all three of these solid state amps may be a good candidate for you. Of the three, I feel the Blue Circle has the rounder, more "tubelike" character.

I own an older Bryston 4B which I use for my subwoofer and because of it's more neutral, grainier nature might not be what you're looking for. However, I understand that the newer ST and SST versions are much smoother.

I think a super bargain is the McCormack DNA 0.5 or 1. You might even be able to snag a Deluxe version of one of these for under $800.

I do think that the brightness you're experiencing may either be room related and/or attributed to the Denon receiver.

I just got one and i am surprised at how good it sounds...just velvety smooth, and good detail as well,,,you can always sell it if you dont like it.

I agree with Dennisj, kill two birds with one stone.

Dave

Agree with DennisJ. If your preamp is mediocre then it doesn't matter how good the rest of your system is.