Replacements for Dynaudio Floorstanders

Thank you all so much for the advice. I never expected to get such a response from folks on here.

I appreciate each opinion, but the overall message seems clear: my issue is not with my speakers. As to the previous poster, my brother has an all Audio Research setup, and when we used his amp and the pre part of my integrated, we got pretty close to my ideal sound. As I said previously, my ideal piece of gear to go behind the Dynaudios is a Levinson 383 Integrated. I LOVE the sound of that thing. I could probably find one used on here if I wait long enough. My only concern is...at 100 wpc, and a bit more into 4 ohms, which the Dyns are...is that enough power to push my 86db speakers to loud volumes?

For the person who mentioned tube stuff, and the distinction between bloom and warmth, that's a fair point. I've listened to some good tube stuff...Conrad Johnson, Audio Research, Musical Fidelity and California Audio Labs. Right off the bat, none of the them appealed to me. Label it whatever you'd like, but I just prefer the solid state sound. I've just come to the realization that, while I love the huge amount of resolution I'm getting out of my system, its presentation is just a bit dry, a little thin, and a little bright. I'm not looking to transform the sound in my system, just to push it more towards a Levinson/Audio Research type of sound.

As for my Benchmark DAC, I'm going to stick with it for the immediate future because it's my newest component at less than two years old. It DRAMATICALLY improved the resolution in my system, though I'll admit it left my sound a bit thin and definitely trending on the bright side. Once I get into a position where I have disposable income, I'll be refining my system one component at a time.

As for my speakers, if or when I replace my Dynaudios, it's going to be with something (more) full-range. I might be willing to sacrifice a little in the way of resolution in order to get that.

Thanks again for everything!

Good luck! You'll get there:)

Well you ended up answering your own question didn't you.

"As for my Benchmark DAC, I'm going to stick with it for the immediate future because it's my newest component at less than two years old. It DRAMATICALLY improved the resolution in my system, though I'll admit it left my sound a bit thin and definitely trending on the bright side"

I'm curious, why would you "stick with it" if you've now come to the realization that the Benchmark is bright, and don't like the way it sounds, and it's causing the issues that you have with your system? Keep it cause it's 2 years old?? Not to be rude but your logic doesn't really seem to make any sense. Just sell the thing and move on. You can probably get $700-$800 for it. pick up a new W4S Dac1 for $999.00 that will crush it, across the board.

As for the Levinson 383 I'd think hard on that. The 383 is long discontinued, no warranty, and Harmon is known to have terrible support for older Levinson products, just poke around in the discussion forums about Levinson customer service issues.

A great choice in an amp that would match up well with your Dynaudio's would be a Plinius 9200 plenty of power great sound, excellent match.. They typically sell for $2500.00 -$3000.00, less than a 383 and pretty much bullet proof build quality.

my 2 cents(considering your room acosutic is OK and you like your speakers)-
change your dac to soemething more warm and liquid.

audioqest cables is on the hot side, kimber 12tc would do the job making sound fuller.

pass labs class a amps could be a ticket. most Ayre would not go hand in hand with krell bass- when you are used to it you will miss it.

Erikminer: my logic is that I'm in grad school and don't want to spend too much money. However, I'd like to pin down what exactly I should get in the future, so I can keep an eye on Audiogon. Also, my intention was never to replace the Benchmark, nor the Krell, but the speakers. Even if I've pinned down that the speakers are not really the issue, I'd much rather invest in a full(er)-range speaker (ideally one that is a little warmer) that will serve as the anchor of my system for the future and deal with the Benchmark and Krell at a later time.

Might not make the most sense, I'll grant you, but this is a work in progress, and I haven't laid down a dollar to change anything as of yet. I just wanted some feedback! Thanks once again.