Which player has all this????

I think that the new Cary 306 can do all of that for you.

have you changed your cables yet ???

Make sure all your cables is real copper with good insulated shield with none silver in it. I do have almost the same set up, but I try to looking for the brighter sound and I change my cables, It does work. Good luck

baffled,
the 800n are a big part of your problem. the nautilus line is tipped on the top end. this was one big change in their new D series design of the crossovers as well as tweeter location. i had n802,n803. i know what you mean. tyler acoustic woodmere's did it for me getting rid of the nautilus line. sitting and speaker location can increase brightness and reduce bass. thats why i like a d'appolito design. as you move your sitting location towards the speaker you will hit a spot where everything just clicks. d'appolito designs have a fast off axis drop which helps with side wall reflextions.i would highly adjust speaker location and sitting closer to the speakers if not already doing so. a good starting point is have the speakers at least 3 ft measured from the center of the tweeter from the sidewalls. you can than later adjust the distance of the speakers from the front wall. dont be over concerned if the speakers are closer to the front wall . each room tells you where they should go. sit as far from the speakers as they are apart. then angle the speakers towards your sitting chair. you will find more toe in will help ease the brightness. you will eventually find something that sounds right. you have to work with stereo. if your hearing sound imaging in front of the speakers its wrong. you should be hearing really nothing from the speakers. this tells you are getting inside the first reflection point of the side walls and getting better imaging. once you get that it depends on distance from the front wall for bass and then adjusting your sitting chair again.remeber if you adjust the speakers distance from the front wall you have to adjust the toe in again and sitting location. from there small adjustments should fine tune your sound with minor speaker movements. a front port or downward firing port can be closer to the front wall than rear port designs. they have less flexability especially if you have room limitations. the first place to start without getting new gear is to make sure speaker setup is optimized. new gear cannot adjust for less optimum speaker location. the next best step after that is a room correction device to eliminate the room as much as possible.

bill

By reading your previous post I think I have an idea what you are trying to achieve. However, I would suggest getting a dedicated tube pre-amp first along with a new set of analog interconnects that will go from Denon dvd player to your pre-amp and then from pre-amp to power amp. Pre-amps to consider on used market, I would suggest something in the league of Audio Research LS-25 MkII. I think you may be able to live with the Denon as a cd player if you start from dedicated line stage. And please, get rid of your radioshack cables before you get a new cd player. Just my opinion, but of course you decide.