I'm pretty satisfied with the sound of my system, i have a good friend who has the same exact system, and i loved the sound of his so much, i went and purchased the same exact setup, isn't that crazy ? oh well, whatever works, i say.
hey hooper and milkman, sorry it took me so long to reply, i haven't tried the speakers without the cages, actually i haven't had a chance to really set them up properly so i could start enjoying them, but i'm getting everything ready, so it'll be soon, i'll post some pics when i'm done.
If you asking about the DAC that i use with the 969, i use the Burmester 970 SRC DAC. I don't think it was available as a choice when i first posted my system. I just purchased a Billy Bags audio rack, and when i get everthing set up, i will post some pics. Thanks for all the responses guys.