@david_ten Thanks for your generous words, though I have to respectfully disagree with your suggestion to spend the budget on amplification in lieu of speakers for a couple of reasons. Firstly as I eluded to in my previous post, the OP has plans to add a dedicated preamp in the near future. And secondly, I agree with Paul Mcgowan’s approach to system building, and that is to “Build around your speakers”
I subscribe to the view that since loudspeakers have the greatest influence on the sound of your system imho, you should generally spend more on speakers than your amplification, them look for an amp/amps which has good synergy with your speakers, followed by front end, cables etc over time. it’s all about synergy!
Now here’s the thing; the OP expressed that he is unhappy with his current Paradigm speakers, noting “I am trying to get better clarity on the vocals and more separation on the individual instruments”. Could you get that through better amplification and/or a different CD player? Maybe. But I would suggest starting with the speakers, then the OP can evaluate how his upgraded amp setup sounds before considering any other changes.
