I have owned a Yamaha RXV 2095 HT Receiver for four years and have never been happy with it, especially when playing CDs. I always found the sound, although very clear and accurate, too bland, with no presence or liveness to it. So I've been thinking about replacing it with either a Rotel 1075, or a Denon AVR 3805, maybe the 5803, but that is really beyond my budget, or a Yamaha RXV 2400. The first two sound much warmer too me. The last one, frankly, I have not auditioned.

But, recently I got a Cassette Tape Deck for my system, so that I could play the 500 or so cassettes that I had put in storage. The deck, by the way, is a TEAC 860R. As soon as I played my first tape, I noticed a huge improvement in the sound. It sounded warmer, clearer, more like the music was being played in my living room.

So here is my question: Is my problem, my receiver, or my CD Player? I have a Yamaha CDC 775 (was top of line 4 years ago). And would it make sense to replace my CD Player instead of my Receiver and save a ton of money? Or is the problem in my head?

Thanks for your responses.

Jeffrey N, Toronto.