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Can't get Acoustic Zen Adagios to sound smooth

I have owned a pair of Acoustic Zen Adagios speakers for over 4 years. They can sound very good, BUT also have a HARD AND UNSMOOTH sound when playing certain CD's. I have changed electronics from separates to an integrated amp, and recently purchased a Ayre CX-7e to replace a Rega Apollo. The Ayre easily highlights the limitations of the Rega player and outperforms it.

Nevertheless, the hard and unsmooth sound seems to prevail. It can also sound like an acoustic overtone, and (I think )the music looses its bloom or musicality. The current living space is well damped with maps,and rug hangings on the walls. I also have two 6 ft tall bookcases that contain only 70% less books than my previous apartment These shelves are in the corner, perpendicular to the speaker on each side of the room.

I encountered this problem before in a different and smaller living space.

I also recently changed speakers cables from a 4 year old pair of Audio Art SC-5 to a brand new pair of Grover Huffman which seemed to be slowly breaking in and are more detailed than the AA cable. I also replaced the standard wimpy power cord of the Ayre player with Panagea's new 14SE MKII power cord designed for just components, not amps. The Panagea PC is excellent, and has dropped the noise floor allowing for more detail to emerge. I drive the Adagios with the Rogue Sphinx hybrid integrated amp (100RMS)whose PC was replaced by an Acoustic Zen Tsumani Plus power cord.

I am beginning to wonder if there is another speaker that might provide a smoother top end performance and still have the taut bass, and detailed mids of the Adagios. Will appreciate all and any advice, even new speaker recommendations. Thank you
sunnyjim
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"04-02-15: Sunnyjim
To Mmeysarosh, Your comment exactly described what I am hearing and have heard over the last 4 years. It is not been painful, just overall disappointing."

What kind of cables are you using in the system? With gear that has a lot of resolution like AZ and Ayre, I've noticed some traits that certain cables bring out in a system. I'm not saying that this is definitely your problem, or that different cables will be a complete fix, because that's not likely. But it may be a contributing factor, and maybe offer at least a partial fix, or step in the right direction.
shakeydeal
979 posts
 
zd542,

Not mad at all. Just having some fun......

Shakey
sunnyjim OP
927 posts
 
To ZD542, Don't laugh, and ruin the armistice we sort of have achieved. I used for 3 years the Audio Art SC-5 which after a long break-in sounded very good. Sam Tellig of Sterophile Mag often mentioned them in his speaker reviews.

However, I would not leave "it" alone and am currently using and breaking-in Grover Huffman cable. I cannot say yet if they sound much better than AA SC-5. There are many members who recommended them, and there are testimonials scattered across the audio blog.

The other option was Clear Day cables made by Paul Laudatti, a fine gentleman whose home base is Tucson. I once tried his basic cable as a loaner and I think it sounded a tad better (and also brighter) than the basic AA. The ticket in his line is the Double Silver Shotgun speaker cable which I never auditioned. I still could because I don't need a 12 ft pair anymore which is difficult to get as a loaner

However in the interim of trying to figure out the above problem as described in the tread, I considered Audience speaker cable, that is the new SE line. Even used it is a lot of money. I could be wrong ,but an eight ft pair of the SE model is about $1400. Accalades abound in the audio press for the speaker cable, but a system cable upgrade of the their SE model interconnect and PC, was reviewed last month in TAS.

Lastly,a long time member who has used every wire, possibly barbed and razor wire, was raving about the new Synergistic Research speaker cable ranked and titled Level 1 to 4. You need to visit their website, the design and technology is beyond me; however SR offers the basic Level I speaker cable for $895.00. The Cable Companny has loaners.and is also an official dealer
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