JOB, BelCanto, Perpetual, MilleniumDACs?

SuburuG, great description of your audition of Bel Canto. I actually hope that you do _not_ experiment with a new power cord (or IC changes) too quickly, because I'd love to hear what you think about the sound you're getting after a week or two passes. That's 'cause I think the psychoacoustic theory about perceived tilting-up of spectral balance after increasing the resolution of the system holds water. I mean, I don't know about your situation in specific, but in general a system with lower resolving power might give mid- and high-range sounds a certain "thickness" that seems comforting when one is used to it and when taken away makes the new sound seem lean and "whitish". (I don't know why this would give a "smeary" sound, which you also mentioned, though.) This perceived effect might change, however, after the brain no longer hears the new sound as "new." Maybe the new sound will sound purer and more emotional, and the old sound will sound veiled -- stranger things have happened! For sure, it's tough to remain objective through this kind of listening process. Still, sometimes I think just leaving things alone and forgetting about the stereo for awhile yields these occasional realizations that, "hey, this is sounding different in such-and-such a way," that are truer to long-term listening happiness than focused A/B-ing, which also can drive one nuts. Anyway, it'd be interesting to see if your perceptual response changes with the passage of a little time.