Integrated Amplifier for Monitor Audio Silver S2 Speakers

Everyone has to do things their own way. However, some of the other posters recommend formulas for how much your speakers should cost relative to other components. There's really no nice way to say this, but if you select components that way, you're asking for a train wreck. The only thing you can be certain of when you spend more for a product, is that it costs more. There's absolutely no reason why a pair of $1000 pair of speakers driven by a $2000 integrated amp, can't sound better than $2000 speakers with a $1000 amp. There's so many reason's for this, I couldn't even scratch the surface going over them in a post like this. But I can give you a couple of examples. 

When you look at a speaker, where is the money going? Companies like Vandersteen and Magnepan put very little into the outward appearance of their speakers, where companies like B&W and Wilson do. The ratio of performance to appearance is very different. If you're going just by price, you can easily pick a more expensive speaker that isn't as good as what you already have. 

Selecting components is all about system matching. How well does a component work with your other components, and is the change positive or negative? The better you get at matching components, the less money you need to spend. 

You don't have to take my word for any of this. Do some listening and you'll see this for yourself.

I just noticed from reading one of your other posts that you have an Oppo 103. If you're willing to conduct a simple experiment, I think you'll find the results worth while. If you look on the back of your NAD, you'll see that the amp and preamp sections are jumped externally. This means that you can use it just as an amp or just as a preamp, and not have the signal pass through the component you're not using. Remove the jumpers and run a pair of interconnects from the analog output on your Oppo to the amp in of your NAD. Use the volume control on the Oppo. 

The reason for this, is that preamps make a much bigger difference then most people realize. If you go direct, you shouldn't have any problem hearing a difference. Most likely the change will be good. There's too many variables to say exactly how much of a difference it will make, but its absolutely worth a try. The results you get may give you some insight on how to proceed.

I'm assuming all of your equipment is broken in, and you've tried some different placement options for your speakers. Also, I'm familiar with both your amp and speakers. You should be getting some good sound. Ultimately, they may not be to your taste, bit I think you should do as much as possible to make sure there really is a problem.

When you have an issue, or get frustrated, its very easy to pull your best components off the rack and get rid of them, thinking you've fixed the problem.