After much listening and lots of plugging and unplugging I've decided to keep the Kenwood. In the ways that matter most to me, it sounds best. Instruments and voices are smooth and realistic with decent depth. The soundstage is not as wide or deep as I'd like but it's good enough for now. Sacds, CDs and records all sound pleasing. As said before, the Yamaha had sharper detail and a large and deep soundstage but often was fatiguing and shrill. Horns sounded particularly bad and had no meat at all. Overall, the C2 beat my Carver C-1, though the holographic doodad was really nice for certain music. The C2 can also be modded, especially the phono output. It took some time and at times I second guessed myself a lot but I think I've made the right choice. (till the next score at least