After leaving my system on for 3 days...

I moved the tuner off the CD player and it seems to have reduced the harshness. Now I'm experimenting with speaker and room placement, but it's very difficult in my small dorm room. It'll all be better once I graduate and move into my apartment. :)

I'll report more of my experimentation as it comes in. Thanks for your help.

I think I see your problem !!!! Try using better interconnects !!!!!! Monster Cable is CRAP ! Try some Kimber KCAG for your cd player and then maybe some Kimber 8TC for speaker cable!!!!

Short of buying a PS Powerplant, i don't think that you'll ever be able to get optimum results out of any system in a dorm room. Between all of the computers and other gadgets tied into the electrical system of the building, you'd almost have to make sure that everyone was sleeping and all of the electronic gadgets turned off in every room to be able to hear what your system is capable of. As mentioned, late night listening is where it is at ( if at all possible ) without going to some type of dedicated lines / isolated ground / power regeneration set-up. Sean
>

interconnects and moving things around isn't the answer...you said you came back 3 days later with the system the same as before except you left equipment on, right?

So the answer doesn't lie in changing things around. You are trying to discover what is the difference now. If you start changing things you will be introducing new variables and you will be hard pressed to understand what has changed.

Isolate the problem. Make sure you have more than one CD to test with, test at different times and be patient. Even if nothing changed, your mood alone could impact things so you want to make sure the change is consistent at a number of times and moods and with a number of CDs you know well. Then if you are still sure there is an issue or the issues is intermittent, I would follow the lead of several other posters and look into electricity control. If you can afford it, get a PS power plant (probably the p-300, $1245 http://psaudio.com/products/p300_overview.asp). If you can get one from a friend or local dealer or I think PS has a 30 day trial period, either way, TRY before you BUY. A lot of money, probably your most expensive piece, but since it will help all 3 NAD units then it is only like $400 a piece. Who knows you might be able to find one used and save a few bucks, just make sure you are getting the most recent model. (But this way you can’t audition it first.)

cd
interconnects and moving things around isn't the answer...you said you came back 3 days later with the system the same as before except you left equipment on, right?

So the answer doesn't lie in changing things around. You are trying to discover what is the difference now. If you start changing things you will be introducing new variables and you will be hard pressed to understand what has changed.

Isolate the problem. Make sure you have more than one CD to test with, test at different times and be patient. Even if nothing changed, your mood alone could impact things so you want to make sure the change is consistent at a number of times and moods and with a number of CDs you know well. Then if you are still sure there is an issue or the issues is intermittent, I would follow the lead of several other posters and look into electricity control. If you can afford it, get a PS power plant (probably the p-300, $1245 http://psaudio.com/products/p300_overview.asp). If you can get one from a friend or local dealer or I think PS has a 30 day trial period, either way, TRY before you BUY. A lot of money, probably your most expensive piece, but since it will help all 3 NAD units then it is only like $400 a piece. Who knows you might be able to find one used and save a few bucks, just make sure you are getting the most recent model. (But this way you can’t audition it first.)

cd