Where do I go from here?

Cables are cheap RCA cables from home depot.. the biggest the make.. 12 gauge?

Right now I am using a Tripplite smart 1000LCD.. which is a UPS but has some filtering I think.. is this not the right sort of filtering?

I guess I will head to my local used audio store and pic up a few $800 range preamps; bring them home and listen.

I've never witnessed speaker cables making a difference.. maybe I will see if I can bring home some cables as well to test.. we have a great shop here in Denver that has let me bring home many preamps, amps, and speakers..

My Eico gets some really good reviews though.. its supposed to really be a nice unit.. I have a harmon kardon preamp as well... I should try it again.. last time I heard it I was not impressed.

First off I want to say; last night I moved my Harmon Kardon HK825 into place and back to backed it with the Eico HF85. I am sorry to say; my Eico is no longer my favorite. The HK at least last night showed me more music than the Eico did. The only downside s that the Eico seems to play female voices better that the HK.. and I love Lisa Loeb so its not good. :(.

As far as the HF-81 amp.. no way in heck a small tube amp is gonna power my Vandy's.. they are power suckers.. my now gone but not forgotten Klipsch Heresy II's would have been great.. but I have given up on Klipsch horn idea.. I have decided it the worst sounding speaker around.. unless you are throwng an OUTDOOR party and want to jam to black sabbeth! THEN they would be awesome.

The whole reason that am thinking about the Signature series 2ce speakers (vandersteen) is #4 of Mikes list.. all of the crossover electronics were upgraded.. and now I read there is a sig series II!!! WHAT THE HECK IS THAT???? gotta reasearch..

Anyway.. thanks for the preamp advice.. I think the eico will be powered on once in awhile to keep the caps happy but thats about it.. maybe some jazz music.. it still might have its place..

AND.. due to this forum I spent $200 on gold cd's on amazon last night.. thanks guys.. you are all draining my pockets! :)

No disrepect to Klipsch owners intended.. and I was really only speaking of Heresy II's.. and its just my opinion.. speakers as we all know are all subject to individual taste.

DIY cables.. where to I look for parts? I'll start searching in the mean time.

I limited to only Mobile Fidelity releases? Did I do that right? Or may I still receive some pretty CD's with horrible digital?

Damn.. ya know, I usually research stuff to death before I buy.. this time I just researched it.. guess not enough.. I'll try and remember.. and this is going to show my age.. a couple were not gold so lessee..

Pink Floyd- Dark Side of the Moon (Im excited to hear this!) this one was pricey!

Cheap Trick- Live at Budakan (sp?)

Apocolypse Now Sessions (I dont think this was gold.. just took a chance) Love the movie and the music..

YES- Fragile (this was gold for sure)

The Sound of Speed [remastered] (don't ask.. I race cars)..

Martin Denny: Exotica/Exotica, Vol. I & II

RUSH- Moving Pictures (gold)

As you can see.. I'm not one who loves the classics.. LOL..

FYI.. MY BEST SOUNDING CD: "Time Out" by The Dave Brubeck Quartet.. this is one of those that is HDCD but does not say so anywhere.. MY GOD! You can hear people bump into music stands and all sorts of stuff.. lots of tape hiss but I dont care... its UNBELIEVABLE SOUND. I dont know how they were able to record with such quality back then..

TO MY SURPRISE.. I just won and ebay auction for another Threshold 400a! Now I can bi amp.. its broke but I'll fix it.. for $300 with ship I could not pass it up.. I'll just replace the caps and if that doesnt work bring it in for repair.. bet I can get it done cheap enough.. :) One channel is out which makes it really easy to troubleshoot.. just test the good side against the bad..

WOW.. you pull all of that out of your noodle.. too bad about Rush.. pricey.. probably $40.00.. and I do not like too bright.

The Fragile specs are as follows:
Audio CD (November 21, 2006)
Original Release Date: November 21, 2006
Number of Discs: 1
Format: Original recording remastered
Label: Mobile Fidelity Koch
ASIN: B000J10HO4

I am guessing you have quite the library.. another fav. of mine is a collection of Dr Ebbetts rerecorded Beatles.. I had no idea how to purchase these.. so I downloaded them.. not proud of it but I own most of the material.. I dont even think the work he did is legal.. but its simply AMAZING.. well to my ear.. Ever hear of it?

Know anything about this one?
Montrose - Montrose
Audio CD (July 12, 2005)
Original Release Date: 1973
Number of Discs: 1
Label: Audio Fidelity
ASIN: B0009299P6

How would I go about finding out how this one is without asking you?

One more: I have searched as hard as I can to find The soundtrack from the movie Le Mans. Any ideas?

Thanks.. I will. I found Nelson Pass's little forum as well.. might get some help repairing my Threshold 400a. :)

As a followup.. I completed the Op Amp mod to my Onix XCD 88. My intitial interpretation is as follows:

1. WOW!
2. Highs are much more precise.. cymbals now sound like cymbals.. you can hear hihats as they vibrate on eachother.. there is a more airy sound to them as well; they dont sound as compressed.
3. The mids used to be too pronounced on my Vandensteen's.. now they may be a bit too far back.. but I don't know for sure.
4. The bass is just plain more in your face.. my room will need adjustment.

For approx $130 and 15 minutes to solder and install I would do it again without hesitation.

Details here:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=122187&highlight=xcd-88+mod

Quite frankly; I still hear some saw buzz.. this is not a $5000 player.. but for what I have into it now (Approx $380) its pretty amazing. I'd highly recommend anyone owning this unit or someone looking in this price range to modify or buy the Onix used and do the mod.

all this messing with the CD player with results got me to thinking.. why did no one recommend I use a DAC?

Surfgod-

I actually figured this out on my own. I found out my phone stage in my old Eico tube preamp was complete CRAP.. and now I have a HK Preamp with a B&O turntable and it has changed my sound drastically.. I have been frequenting the vinyl resale shop.. been sampling them digitally with excellent results!