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It's rare that a given component performs 100% in a given setup rightaway. If you're adding a new component to an existing setup, to replace another, chances are that it won't give all it's got. This is not odd and easily explainable, but nevertheless an oft-underestimated problem.

Now that you know this, don't disapprove of a new component right away when you find that it sounds nothing like the component that it's replaced. Every component might like different cables, different setup or even different companion components. I'm not Bob Ross, and I know that components don't usually make friends, but in practice I've experienced very often that a given cd player just performs substandard with a given amplifier while performing synergistically with another. Therefore, if you dislike the component, it may not be a terrible component but it may well just be a mismatch.

Try different cables first. Interlinks are easy victims when it comes to compensating for flaws that exist elsewhere in the system. You may have tried to compensate for the soggyness of your old cd player with a very bright and fast interlink and now that you've got a new cd player, your sound is thin and screetchy.

Als try different powercables, they really do make a difference. You can even try to experiment with the phase and position in the extensionblock. Maybe the component likes to be on spiked cones instead of the soft rubbery feet that it came with. Maybe you have to relocate your speakers. Or you may have to borrow a different amp from a friend to see what that does.

You catch my drift:-) Just experiment. If you've done everything described above and the sound still isn't to your liking, well then it may well be the wrong component for you.