Critique my system...

Thanks guys. Yeah, the room isn't ideal...it is carpeted though. Oh and the speakers are on Skylan stands mass loaded with floor dry. I've tried moving the speakers and doesn't seem to change much.

Sometimes I think I'm confusing brightness for a lack of bass...the system is very clear and detailed.

Interesting comments on the CD player...it has a Wolfson DAC which I understand is a decent one.

The other issue may be just crappy recordings. I have a few discs that sound fantastic but I'm still curious if it could sound better....really just new to this.

Thanks,
Aaron

I would say it is the AR preamp, just on face value of your list. It could be the room, so don't rule that out.

But I owned the LS3 in the mid 90s. At first listen, it's detail is captivating. But for the long haul, it is indeed on the bright side.

Shakey

"Sometimes I think I'm confusing brightness for a lack of bass"

I believe you have answered your own question. You have a nice setup. Enjoy it and maybe sometime in the future you can upgrade to Nola's with more bass.

A tube DAC maybe?

You shouldn't have any brightness problems with your amp and preamp. Although I wouldn't use the Monster cables, I don't recall where anyone's complained of brightness when using them, rather the opposite: overly warm and or/closed in.

The CDP you have is not in the same league as your rest of your system but again, it's not known to be on the bright side and their line of components are midrange centric anyway (which is not to say they limit the upper and lower frequencies).

Al is usually right in his diagnosis (if he had a 1-800 number and told people their futures he'd be a wealthy man by now) :-) so try his suggestions along with experimenting with speaker placement and maybe some room treatment.

All the best,
Nonoise