How to fix my detailed, accurate but BRIGHT system

I have several pairs of Aerials including the 7Bs. I've run a lot of different amps on the them. I found they sounded all sorts of different depending on the amp. I'm sensitive to highs in recorded music so it was an especially important point to me that they sound right. I also had a number of other speakers and can't say that the highs really change all that much from speaker to speaker. Also, the Aerials are so well built that's it's very easy to have them up too loud and that ends up being painful. I settled on McInitosh and also Bel Canto. You can't beat Mcintosh for smooth pleasing highs IME. I've got the 7Bs in the bedroom now running off Bel Canto's S500. The BC has stronger highs and dynamics than the McIntosh but I would say the highs sound good. Surely the room has something to do with it but if I were you I'd be in the market for a different amp. The Aerials absolutely sound different depending on the amp. I would even go so far as to say that in a blind test with the 8 or 10 amps I've tried with them I could dicern which amp was being used with them.

it has been suggested that a slight alteration of speaker placement might help. i suggest a slight toe-out of your speakers. if you don't like the sound, you can easily reposition the speakers. make sure you use tape to mark the position of your speakers, before you move them.

Well, I have a lot to take in. Pretty funny richlane, you too Mechans. I did try toeing my speakers in, then out to see if this helped. Toeing out did tame down the high end, but then I didn't feel like I was part of the music anymore. sort of like standing in the back of the room listening to a band. Shazam, you stated you thought the PS Dac was a problem for you. I'm wondering if I tried a tube dac like a Havana if this would calm things down. I can get a new one for what I can get for my PS audio. If I don't like it they sell like hot cakes here. I understand that bat tube preamps are discribed by some as dark. I'm wondering if I would benefit from that type of change. Tvad, I will try a different amp. I'm not stuck on the Butler, I just know it's on the warmer side of SS. Listening today I did notice that the louder I turned up my system the brighter the highs got. Maybe this is an indicator of what your talking about, or maybe the highs are bouncing around more, I don't know. Yes, this is a fun hobby, a little frustrating at times, but fun none the less. I thank all of you again for taking the time to help me out.

Mechans makes a great point about certain IC's. i'm doing IC comparo's as we speak and the Cardas Gold Ref's are in the mix. there is no doubt that these IC's really warm things up, and not by a small margin either. so much so that i don't care for them at this point. (remember that i like things forward or a tad brighter then some). even using krell power, they sounded to warm for me. on the flip side...the acoustic zen silver ref II's sound way too bright with my krell/aerial 7b combo.

a few of you mentioned speaker position. this is something i've been working on too. with help from Rich, i discovered what a big difference this can be. experimented with several new positions in a new location and was shocked to hear how much better everything sounded. have not made the permanent move yet but will very soon

the last comment that rang true to me was that regarding power supply. getting plenty of clean juice to your equipment makes alot of difference imo. kinda pricy but well worth it for me. upgraded to a dedicated 20A line, porter ports, PSA quintet and PSA PW power cords (2 AC-5's and 2 AC-10's). can't tell you which upgrade did the most because each step was very subtle. but together...the whole power supply upgrade did wonders. great depth was the biggest improvement with additional smoothness coming in second. who would-a thought???

being a newbe...none of the above 3 area's of improvement came to my mind naturally. they were all suggestions from various folks around here, kind enough to offer good advice. i thought my system sounded good right when i set it up 4 months ago. can't beleive how much i've learned and how much better it sounds now.(and how much less money i have now =) )

you guys really know your stuff!

cheers
Lev