systems seems to be playing slowly, need thoughts

I highly doubt that it's anything related to absolute polarity, as Casouza suggested. About 50 percent of recordings are made out of phase anyway and the effects, to me, do not seem to be related to tempo problems.

I'm thinking the CD player too. Ad Viridian said, try another CD player, or some other sources and see if that makes things better. Usually amps and preamps can sound poor and distorted, but not like they're playing at slow speed.

The other day I had a very similar sound from my system. On occasion in the past when the sound got weird/scratchy/slooow, I've un-hooked all the power cords, rearranged the power strips etc. No help this time with this regimen. Even more surprising this time was mid-range transistor grunge which has never come from the DK VS.1 MK II amp. before. Whatever faults the DK has, at least it usually has low transistor grain (my Almarro 5 watt A205A is out for modification, thus the use of the DK for now). Asking my local guru (Deets' Sound Room} about this, suggested I try the used Adcom "power conditioner" he had (model ACEsomething, $120). What a difference! no grunge, no grain, timing correct, no more sloooow. Even the DK had bass "punch" it never had before. I had never been a big fan of power conditioners and had success with power cords only to extent of adding focus/definition to sound, not a transformation like this, I suspect a happpy combination of effects for my wiring, power company, equiptment but I hope this helps you straighten out your system without having to replace stuff your're happy with. Let us know how it all works out.....and would like to hear about others that had good success with power conditioners of any type, Mike.

Thanks guys, Based on your advice I'll be switching and swapping over the next few days. Yes, based on Viridian's comments the CDP is my first focus. About the power conditioner, I have dedicated lines so I hadn't given them much thought but I'll relook that also. I'll let you all know how things work out. And Happy Holidays!. Dave

I just dont understand how the power conditioner can fix all the ills listed above...If the power was the issue, it would have been a permanent problem...Conditioner fixing timing issues...wow!!

Also, try "rebooting" the microprocessor in the CD player. Unplug it for a few minutes then plug it back in, turn it on again and try. Power fluctuations can put them out of whack, just like a computer.