Searching for preamp upgrade

It sounds to me like your speakers are the problem. I usually never try and talk someone out of a preamp upgrade because most people don't realize how important it is for good sound. In your case though, you'll just be using it as a band aid fix, and to be honest, it probably wont work. Also, your Classic 60 may not be up to driving your current speakers.

Why not look at a speaker upgrade instead? If you like plainer speakers, a pair of Martin Logan's would probably make you very happy. The panels are not made of metal and there is no tweeter. They are the kind of speaker you can listen to for long periods of time with no fatigue.

The AR is indeed a bit clinical. A BAT might do the trick here, as would the Coincident Statement Linestage that I have.

Having said that, I tend to agree that the speakers may actually be contributing more to the problem. Ribbon tweeters can be very aggressive.

Finally, and perhaps more importantly, is the room acoustically treated? Wondering if side wall reflections are making things much worse than they should be.

Sell your Oppo and buy the new Cambridge Audio 752BD universal player. It use's five Wolfson DAC'S which are known for their warm rich, musical performance and are superior to the Oppo ESS Sabre32 DAC'S used in their audio output. The Wolfson DAC'S are more
relaxed and have a fuller, more organic midrange for musical playback.

"Sell your Oppo and buy the new Cambridge Audio 752BD universal player. It use's five Wolfson DAC'S which are known for their warm rich, musical performance and are superior to the Oppo ESS Sabre32 DAC'S used in their audio output. The Wolfson DAC'S are more
relaxed and have a fuller, more organic midrange for musical playback."

No offense, but that wont fix anything. A new CD player is not going to fix an aggressive sounding pair of ribbon speakers. Not only that, there is a lot more to the sound of a CD player than the DAC chips. The analog portion has at least as big effect on SQ as the digital section. If the speakers have to stay in the system, Wilsynet's recommendation of a preamp is probably the best place to start. I disagree, though on the BAT recommendation. It would definitely be a step in the right direction, but I would be looking for something a lot more forgiving. An old CJ PV 10 or 12, or maybe even a quicksilver line stage would be a better choice. After that, have a look at the amp. The Classic 60 is very good, but its probably working very hard to drive those ribbons.

Thanks everyone who responded to my thread. Yeah, I kind of know the speakers are problematic--you should read the original stereophile review of these, the company literally sold hundreds of pairs of these these based on that review alone, but they are probably out of business, now, not sure. I have an old AR sp-8 mk II laying around, I could try that. Regarding efficiency, I can't even turn the CL-60 up to 4 in my room without leaving, so that's not really a problem, plenty of headroom, too. I may try the bi-amp to stiffen up the bass a bit, not selling the OPPO--you have to hear it in your system to realize how good this little 1K player is. I also may hook up my Mapleknoll TT to see if the analog front end is any softer. I still like the idea of the Hovland, but have never heard one in person. The other thing I forgot to mention is that I am using 12ga romex for cable now, which is probably good for the bass but terrible for the highs--this may also be a source of glare. Thanks, guys, for all the advice, really appreciate it. Ed