Jeremy,

I come from the school of thought that believes that most pre-amp / amps, if operating properly, contribute very little to the sound that you hear. It's the transducer (speaker) and its environment that is many, many times over more responsible for the sound you hear. Many would disagree.

All else being equal, a speaker that sounds bright with your current set-up, is more than likely going to sound that way with just about any other - with but very few exceptions.

I heard absolutely no difference in "brightness" when I switched from a Marantz AV560 pre/pro/tuner to the 950 - as I would have expected. In fact all of the difference in sound that I do hear, I attribute to how the sound is processed in the various modes - in other words what sound comes from what speaker(s). With both units having low noise and distortion, as well as essentially flat frequency response accross (my) audible spectrum, I'd never expect to hear any difference in the "quality" of the sound.

You can do much more to control any brightness issues with any speaker by simply playing around with its placement and surroundings than by worrying about pre-amp/amp match-ups. And simpler yet, wasn't that what a treble control was for when every unit had one?

Purchase in peace.

Jeff Mackwood