Totem Forest Speakers.....

My Hawks' sound lack imaging and presence when they're just a foot from the wall. When there are no kids around to knock them over, I bring them out over 2 feet from the wall and it makes a HUGE difference. Accurate bass turns into real bass. The band and the singer set up around the room and I hang out with them. I have them a bit more than five feet apart. I'm still working with my set-up (it's in its infancy), but this one thing I've learned. And, like Dgaylin, no grills.

Your perception of the sound not filling up the room and sounds flat can be due to the room. As advised by some folks, some natural diffusion material such as RPG omniffusors can work wonders in your small listening space. I would look at improving the room acoustics first before working on the amp. If the system still sounds flat after room treatments then you might want to look at other amps that are more musical and able to give some midrange bloom or warmth. The KAV-400XI although extended and dynamic can sound a little clinical and lack some organic qualities some other amps possess.

You won't get any speaker to perform optimally in a room like that. There lies your problem.......

Shakey

>>06-21-09: Dave_b
The Sony offers state of the art playback for RB and SACD's<<

It's a cute little player but hardly state of the art. Not even close.

However, I'm sure it integrates well with your other components which appear to be at or around the Sony's limitations.

What I like about the Sony is it's overall take on the music. It has tremendous clarity, great dynamic contrast, tonal accuracy and an almost non-existent level of digititis or odd harmonics aka glare. The price also makes it a great bargain and easy to love. I also did some more component compaarisons again in my home, compliments of my dealers, and at the risk of sounding like a broken record..uhm, CD, the 400xi still outdoes the competition for me. Maybe a Pass XA series amp would do it for me, or a Rowland integrated, but my Krell has such a great balance as well, that it just makes me happy:O) The Soundstage review nails it....the 400xi has an exceptional sense of energy and aliveness that would be hard to equal, let alone better, at any price! Of course I use superior cabling which allows my gear to achieve maximum musicality...I think Audiofeil knows what brand I use, don't ya?