hi yashu,
ewe mention wanting to upgrade yer cd-player, what ya *really* nead to tame the harshness is a *turntable*, w/some *winyl*! ;~) what yure finding bright & harsh is the digital software, nothing else, imho. i used to run thiel 3.5's w/an adcom gfa-555 & an adcom preamp. all components were noted for their excessive brightness if not toned-down w/ancillary equipment, & i had 'em all together! i never had a problem w/vinyl, only w/digital.
the only way to ameliorate the digital nasties w/o spending megabucks on digital hardware, is to get a nice tube preamp, imho. much more cost-effective than getting a gnu cd-player. prior to my getting a toob-pre, i used an ase z-man toobed buffer-stage between my digital & my pre - this was the only way i could listen to digital. (at this time, i was using a linn kairn preamp w/electrocompaniet amps, & meret re speakers. electro amps are warm for solid-state, & i still use 'em).
finding a tube integrated w/enuff grunt to drive thiels may be a tough order, tho - thiels like all the power ewe can throw at 'em. perhaps the pathos classic mite work, if yer room isn't too large - hybrid integrated w/toob pre & solid-state amp; 50wpc; 95w into 4 ohms. but, i tink yule be better off w/a separate toob pre & a s/s amp.
good luck, doug
