Completely restructuring my modest system..

You might consider trying some MIT or Audioquest speaker cables. Both go a long way (in most cases) to eliminating the bright top end that is bothering you right now. I think McIntosh is a great match for B&W, but probably not in your price range right now. I did see an MC502 amp for sale on A'gon for $400 with a case. If the aesthetics don't bother you, give it a try - tough to lose money on McIntosh stuff too. I have also found the Kimber Kable ic's and speaker wire to be exceptional. The 4TC and PBJ's are great, economical choices. They seem to be on the opposite end of the technological spectrum compared to AQ or MIT, but the results are impressive indeed. Good luck and enjoy!

One last note - A while back I read an article detailing an economical system that promised to deliver the goods. It consisted of Antique Sound Labs Wave amps (8 watt models) modified with Auricaps, and ASL preamp (currently $249), Paradigm Atom speakers and I think a Sony source. Total cost with mods was $1000. The amps are no longer in production, but you can pick them up here for about $300. Everything else is either in production or readily available on A'gon.

found that link for the ASL setup.

it is :

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3078269/

Thanks for all the advice guys. For now, I'm selling my speakers (B&W 602 s3, 600 s3, and ASW 650 sub all in classifieds section ;) ).

I'm also going to be listing my NAD T752 soon as well, but I want to settle on an amp before I do so. I think I will try the Mini Max, if I can find a good deal on it, GMood.

I just want to bump this thread for other people that might have some feedback. The more I read about the GMA Europa, the more convinced I am that they're the speakers for me.

I'm considering a tube integrated, like a Consonance or a Jolida, but Ray of GMA recommends about 70 watts per channel out of tubes, which puts most of the Consonance gear out of my price range. I guess it's Jolida for me.

Or maybe I should just invest in a DAC. Decisions decisions...

Dubzilla- the 70Watts for tubes is for playing loudly (well above 95dB peak) in a medium-sized room where you are 12+ feet distant, in my opinion. I have heard extraordinary results from as little as a 17W/channel EL-84 push-pull amp, and have reports that the 7 Watt Wavelength Audio amp is extraordinary if you are not going to play above 92 dB peak inside of 12 feet. Which is still loud enough to have to raise your voice to speak.

The units GMood recommends are excellent, along with Blue Circle amplifiers, I should mention. Lots of good choices nowadays. Play a wide range of music and recording-qualities to audition, even music/poor recordings you rarely listen to- a good amp, a good cable, etc improves them all IN THE SAME WAYS. I wish more reviewers would spin a really wide range of music to judge any component...

The NAD, if it's high power model, is probably very liveable- it would benefit from a better input signal, for which I find the best bang for the buck to be from Audio Magic interconnects, used on the CD player, assuming it is not used as just a transport. Then isolate the CD player on Black Diamond cones, next. Probably followed by some knid of power conditoning for electrically isolating the CD player.

Anyone agree? Don't keep up on power conditioners like I should, but this sequence of upgrades I think makes the most music, followed then by changing the amp, followed by the speaker wires someday, if necessary. Remember the Europas are a 4 Ohm load, so the power supply of any amp is important. Which is why I asked if the NAD had high power.

Best,
Roy
Green Mountain Audio