Help. Wife says Teres 340 Is too bright.


My Teres 340 is equipped with a Origin Live Illustrious 3 arm and Benz Ebony L cart. The rest of my system is listed.
I think the TT combo sounds great. She does too, but says the highs are just a little bright. I have played with VTA but that has not fixed the problem though she says we were headed in the right direction with tail lowered.

She says that we had the Scoutmaster just right prior to buying the Teres. Funny thing is that I thought the SM was a tad bright on certain albums. But she didn't. Now I think the 340 is just right but she thinks it bright on some recordings.

The only component that I can think that would be causing this is the tonearm. I cannot imagine the Benz Ebony L as bright. Nor do I think it is the Teres. I really think we (wife & I) need to have our ears calibrated so as to agree on brightness. But since that isn't going to happen, I suppose I should figure out how to please us both. So, do you think I'm on the right track with the tonearm being the culprit? What tonearm would give a warmer presentation? Thanks for your help
128x128artemus_5
Jj2468,
I think, people like Ralph (Atmasphere), would be in a much better position to explain the technicalities.
And of course, Victor Khomenko could do this as well, but unfortunately, he doesn't post much in this forum.
I will be out of town for a funeral for a few days. Unfortunately, my sister died on Wed. I have lost the 4 closest people to me in the last 2 yrs, 3 of them in one yr.I have not had an opportunity to make any changes to my system yet because I have also had a sinus infection.
There have been many good suggestions and a lot of good info so far. I thank you all for your help
I will try to work on these problems when I return, starting first with the least expensive. First thing is probably to remove the loading resistors and let it run at 470 ohms
Until then, thanks again. Hug a loved one. We are not promised a tomorrow. See you soon.
Hi Art,

I missed any reference to your using step-up trannies. Which ones are you using? Step-up ratio (or alternatively, dB of gain)?

So, if your cartridge is seeing a 42R load (and assuming you are loading the secondary of your step-up trannie), this would mean that there's a loading resistor in the 4K7 to 5K range.

You might try a higher quality resistor. Some of my customers report pretty good results. Loading the secondary however (the side of the trannie that "talks" to the phono stage) is less affected by resistor quality than is loading the primary (different values would be used for the primary, btw).

-----

I'm familiar with two of George Wright's phono stages - both of which were derived from your model. One of them is the phono stage in the WPP100c and the other was a stand-alone model - the number which escapes me at the moment.

Both of them had very high gain for an MM but not quite enough for a low output MC. I'd say that they were ideal with a medium o/p cartridge - say in the 1 to 1.5 mv range. On both of these units, he had a pot to adjust the gain, but frankly, it was too twitchy. At the price point, George was trying to anticipate too wide a range of cartridges - an impossible task - to try to be all things to all people (cartridges). I think he was facing resistance to step-up trannies and trying to deliver an honest product at a price point (which he did).

George put out a great value product for the money - not in the class of even a Hagerman Coronet-I, but still an honest and musical product.

Rest in peace, George ... you were one of the good guys and we all miss you.

I still suspect a new phono stage is in your future ;-)

Cheers,
Thom
Some things can put this obsession into a proper perspective.
You have lost much.
Best wishes.

Sam
Please accept my most sincere condolences for the loss of your loved ones. Originating from a single child family, I have yet to experience a DIRECT loss. I have lost a few relatives recently who live in other countries, but my immediate family here is still alive. (knock on wood). I try to prepair myself here n there so when the unfotunate happens...it wont feel like a brink in the face. But, I think that untimately it is futile. There are many costs to living this life, but they should no outweigh the benefits. We are a unique species indeed.