"All Ears" John,
I would recommend you to find a good high-end dealer in your area,
where you
can evaluate the components as a system. Bring your own equipment or
make an
arrangement to borrow components with you home for evaluation.

I have one around the corner from me and another 20 minutes away. The
one arond the corner carries a very limtied selection and sells strictly
for MSRP. Their inventory is small. Probably why they've stayed in
business so long, everything they have they own. They don't do the high
interest loans from the mfg's. The one 20 minutes away is mid-fi
catering to HT.

I am surprised to see how many people buying and selling components
with
great loss, never really finding what they want. To me it is better to
see
purchase of audio equipment as one of the big investments in life,
once the
right equipment is there, it will give so much pleasure for so many
years.
You will at least need an upgrade path that has some sort of plan to
it, if
you cannot afford everything at once.

I agree. I do not buy equipment so I can buy more. The Adcom stuff I
bought back in 94-95 and only changed those out to match the new
speakers. The previous ones were stolen during a burglery.

If you did not do it already, make a dedicated mains line all the way
from
the breaker box. It is a relatively small investment, and it can
change a
lot. If the mains line you are using now is choked or polluded with
noise,
you may never get what you want.

I have considred this. It is difficult due to house construction. My
wiring runs through the attic which is floored. Flooring would have to
be ripped up.

If you like, I can mail you some recommendations for equipment to
evaluate.

That would be wonderful!

KE

PS I have heard from a guy who's ears I trust, that the McCormack
amplifier
is detailed, but not musical, could be part of your problem.

Actually the opposite..no not opposite as it's detailed and yet
musical. Most musical amp I've had so far. Sounds wonderful with all the
speakers listed in previous post. I've got the Adcom gear hooked to
the Revels here in the back room. Music is crystal clear and sharp but
not emotional or musical.
Co-worker has the Revel M-20s as well. He's running them with a newer
receiver of some sort. I lent him the Adcom gear so he could hear what a
difference makes when you have dedicated power supplies vice one power
supply in a rcvr which is powering everything. He loved the power the
Adcom gave him but his words were, " it's not musical! It was lifeless!
Dead. Everything was there but the music". Matched my thoughts on
Revel/Adcom.
I would love to have more power to drive the M20's as the McC amp is
only 125w/ch. I've not heard its bigger sibling but have read reviews
that stated it wasn't as musical as its little brother.

I keep reading that tubes are liquid and mate with my horns perfectly
for a magical joining. I would be willing to keep the big horns on if
that did happen. They're excellent with McC amp now. I just hate having
the $$M20's sitting here in this tiny back room where I need the space
going to waste. Toss up quandary. Keep the big horns or the little
M20's? Both excellent just different. The 20's have a quieter
background. Guess that is due to the LaSacalas having 104db sensitivity.
When they're playing they're wonderful; when idle there's a slight hiss
coming through. If I remember correctly that wasn't the case with the
Adcom. Ah....! On another note, the Adcom sits well with the horns as
well but after a while I find myself wishing the McC was back in the
system. As soon as the McC is plugged in, my ears let me know I'm happy
and give a big sigh. It takes about two weeks to notice that I don't
like the Adcom with the horns. I would like to try their newer stuff
since they switched to MOSFET's. I have not heard the 5802 but sure
would like to.
As you can tell I do not have a budget for $20k amps. I do however have
an excellent $18,600 stereo system. Sound is ok but the scenery and feel
while listening to it is awesome. Its called a 2003 Harley Davidson
Electra Glide Classic w/cd player (aka geezer glide). Man! It is great
to listen to music while enjoying the communion with our Lord. Knees in
the breeze.
John