Help Finding my system bright...

Lots of good advice above. Just to chime in on the Plinius amp. I have a similar amp, and it is a dark-sounding amp. Totem speakers, I presume not bright. The two matched up together are supposed to give a warm sound.

Verdict - speaker placement and room are the culprits, unless you are looking for a *very* warm sound.

I agree with you ryder. What do people think about the lack of preamp thing? I had all of my electronics(not my cables) on my fathers forests, and it sounded very warm and full. I am starting to think its not the lack of preamp but my power cables. Today I replaced my power cables with the stock, and found it much more musical and warmer. All these varibles and comparisons are killing me haha. But yeah I bought the power cables about a month ago so I am trying to cash in on that 30 day return policy, Thanks mogalsvs for your input, you could have saved me a couple of grand..

One thing for sure, with any change you make in your setup you need to be patiient. I realize you're running out of time with a 30 day return policy. I find that a system and cables need plenty of time (days) to sit untouched, turned on 24/7 if possible, and frequently playing music in order to reveal what it will eventually become sonically. Waiting and patience is difficult but crucial as the sonics generally change slowly and gradually as everything settles in. In addition, I have always used integrateds and once had seperates. My research of other's experience tells me that in most cases a preamp helps rather than harms and lack of a preamp in more cases than not is not optimal.

In my experience, brightness is often alleviated by readjusting your speaker placement. Play around with your toe in, the distance between your speakers and your seating position relative to the speaker placement. Also, try tilting your speakers back in small degrees to see if that helps.

setup and room acoustics - 90%

everything else - 10%

(assuming nothing is broken or grossly incompatible)