How to fix my detailed, accurate but BRIGHT system

tvad...i was not suggesting that addressing the room was the cure all, more that it is the place i would begin. i have never owned the aerial 7b's and am not familiar with their sound but i have experienced vast improvement from the changes i mentioned in general.

I used aerial 7bs for a few years in
a 16 x 14.5 x 9 ft room with all bat electronics and cardas cables. My room is furnished with a large sectional, ceiling to floor velvet drapes Nd wall-to-wall carpeting. I used a bat or ayre cd player or sme 10 turntable. My system was the complete opposite of bright. The aerials are on the darker and warmer side of neutral. I am not familiar with your associated equipment. I believe the problem lies elsewhere than the speakers

Sometimes a leaner bass may also manifest itself as a more forward overall sound, bringing into sharper focus other tonal characteristics.

Experiment with a little larger Toe-out on the speakers
This will also create a wider sound stage.

Also try moving the speakers back a little towards the wall / corner.

Careful speaker positioning can do wonders, and IMHO is one of the most neglected solutions...

accepting the fact that room treatments are out of order (which i totally respect), i do think cables could help a bit.

if you could ever audition a set of van den hul carbon cables (rca versions are: "the first", "the first ultimate", or my favorite "the first metal screen" {they are the most hum resistant of the rca options, which doesn't usually matter except in phono connections in my system}; and balanced is "the second"), you may be pleasantly surprised at how they tame a bright system. in some cases too much, but in your room maybe they would be just right. in my experience they don't so much roll off the high end as recess it, which is what you're looking to do it sounds.

a nice all-copper speaker cable would be a good idea as well. as WAF is an issue here, anti-cables could be a good fit visually, they're tiny.

and if you're still using stock power cords on your components, a $50 power cord from, say MAC, might make a noticeable difference in adding bottom end to fill out the sound.

so in a perfect world, you could find some used vdh firsts for around $150, try some anti cable speaker cables for around $75, and try a MAC power cable for $50-$75 and then you'd know if cables can help you out...

good luck, though, i'm with you, i HATE brightness. my favorite tv program is rugby matches from new zealand and the sound quality is so bad - worse even than the sound from any other country's feeds - that i have to turn off my system and listen to the tv speakers. annoying.

Forget cables - just get a PEQ and cut at 2Khz around 3 to 6 db and you'll be a happy camper. (Your room is too bright, your music is probably compressed and harsh sounding etc. - never mind the reason, most harshness comes out around 2 Khz - if you simply reduce the 1 to 3Khz band it will be more comfortable for you)

(Oh and BTW before anyone panics about the irreparable damage that might do to precious music, please everyone educate yourself about how recordings are made in the first place - all kinds of EQ are applied and if you have a good system and ear you can actually hear it yourself on most albums - often each track is EQ'd differently - worse some tracks have EQ changing during the track - all audible if you know what to listen for. So a decent PEQ won't "ruin" it for you)