new at this...which amp?

It's really hard to get so much advice, isn't it? Maybe more than you bargained for! The difficult thing about audio is that all the individual pieces have to work together. If you are like me you put together a system one piece at a time, when you could afford it. Some of the best advice I ever got was this: the speakers are the most important device because they produce the sound waves that travel to your ears and they translate all the electrical signals (good and bad) into sound. The next most important piece is the source component,in this case the CD player because this is the beginning of all the electrical signals. GIGO. All of the other pieces are of diminishing importance compared to these two. That is where you want to spend your money. In my view, the following pieces fall in order of importance: speakers, source, pre-amp, amp, interconnects, speaker cables. Each one is dependent upon the other. My Classe CDP is not the most expensive, accurate, revealing or detailed, but it allows me to forget that I am listening to a disc and it sounds so beautiful. My Dynaudios allow me to forget that there are speakers there and I can listen to them for hours. After all, its only about being able to listen to music and forget about all the equipment in front of you. Turn the lights off. Do you like what you hear?

Wow, If I could get my local dealer to give me the level of attention I have gotten here I would have whipped this problem by now. Thank you one and all for the good advise. I called two local (Wash DC) high end stores to see about a home demo for amps, CDP, and cables. Both stores said they would sell me anything in the store with a 30 day store credit policy on returns. I asked if I could buy a floor demo or open box item and return for a full cash refund in a day or two and they both said no. So much for "try before you buy". There is a "used" high end dealer about an hour from here. I may try there this weekend. I am becoming more convinced that cheap cables and CDP are the culprits. Not discounting the " it's the room" advise. I just do not know anything about how to "fix" a room, so I will start with what I know ( spending $$$$)!
I also have two other ideas. One brilliant and obvious....the other maybe just plain stupid, but must be done to satisfy my curiosity. Good idea....go to the uppidy B&W dealer in town and listen to speakers similar to mine just to see how they are supposed to sound when they are set up right with good components. Could be a real eye opener. Bad idea....(maybe)try swapping real crap into my system ( interconnects, amp, CDP ect.)just to see what crap sounds like. If it sounds all too familiar, but worse, I may find that the whole thing is a "I have been listening to crap" problem. The good thing about this approach is that I already own plenty of crap to experiment with!
I filled out a "consultation form" at usedcables.com. Waiting to see what they reccomend.
Any ideas for a good CDP? How much should I pay for one without going overboard? Also, my current CDP is a DVD player too. Is that OK or should there be a seperate unit for CD and DVD? Your advise is appreciated.

Another question....if I do decide on a new amp, will I get cleaner sound and more volume with a 300 by 5 amp using the speakers crossovers, or two 150 by 5 bi amped? Taking into consideration the extra cost for electronic crossover and cables, is bi amp worth it? The goal is LOUD and CLEAN.

I think the advantage of listening to the B&Ws at the dealer is that you can not only listen to the sound they make, but also what is paired with them, esp the source. I have not found a DVD player that can match dollar for dollar what you can get in a stand-alone CD player. There are so many that its hard to recommend, but may I suggest that you poll Audiogon members for which CDP they are playing with your exact speakers. I hope that your dealer has a listening room that is similar to yours. Its always "apples and oranges" but maybe you can get close. You will get several hundred recommendations for CDP! After all, we all think we made the right decision! But it will be your ears that will decide. Your money is best spent on a really good CDP instead of using the DVD. That may solve your issues, or at the least give you great sound. I think the B&Ws are simply projecting what they are given. By the way, I had ADCOM and didn't care for it, however, I helped a friend buy a nice system and he went with Rotel and I love his sound. He has a Rotel pre-amp, Rotel amp and B&W speakers (I can't remember which, but the tweeters are all similar and it sounds like the high frequencies are what's bothering you). Good luck and have fun shopping around!

How to fix a room - www.auralex.com. Send a drwaing or picture of your room with dimensions, openings, etc. At no charge they will make recommendations on what you should try.
Amps - In order to get twice the volume, you need 10x the power (sound is logrithmic). Doubling of the power will supply a "just-noticable-difference" in sound volume.
You don't want to be going into the complexity of bi-amping, when you have enough of the fundamentals it appears like you need to take care of first.
The easiest way to get loud and clean - get more efficient speakers.