Itching for better sound

No shostakovich it won't. Change the experience maybe but not the quality. Save up till you can get yourself a good set of high efficiency loudspeakers like Klipsh Heresys. You will get a lot farther with that old receiver. Enjoy your phones for now and save.

Mike

Thank you.  Just took a look at those Klipsch Heresys.  They look gorgeous, but the "made to rock" slogan on the website gave me pause.  I'd love to know whether people think some speakers are better for classical music than others.  I don't want "made to rock" unless it's a Mahler kind of rocking.  Think the "hammer blows" in his 6th.

Shostakovich knew how to rock. Take the tenth as an example. A good speaker will play anything. I think what they mean is the little speakers will play very loud with minimal power. Put subwoofers under these speakers and you can make a very sizable presentation. If you really want to knock yourself out the back door with say, The Firebird check out the Cornwalls (also Klipsch) Both these speakers are very detailed without getting harsh. You get a lot of speaker for the money and most importantly it does not take huge amounts of power to drive them. The speakers that are noticeably better are way more expensive and generally less efficient. These you will be able to drive fine with your old receiver until you can afford to upgrade your electronics. A 60 watt/ch tube amp would be perfect:)