Please help--my ears are hurting

On the plus side, you have an excellent Music Hall MMF CD 25 CD player to build a system around. Also, the JVC DVD players ... especially if it is something like the 600BL or 602SL is actually quite a good DVD player and competent CD player.

The Music Hall MMF CD 25 (in stock form) is a pretty neutral, warmish sounding machine. I am unfamiliar with the mods and I am unsure if the mods would change the inherent nature of the Music Hall's sound that dramatically ... if anything, mods tend to further build on a unit's inherent sound.

HK receivers are known for being a bit dark sounding (emphasize the lower end of the spectrum) so the brightness is not coming from the HK. Polk speakers can be excessively sharp and brittle sounding in the upper mids to treble end of the spectrum. Polk has largely corrected this in its LSi series, but I gather this not the series that you own ... as the LSi are price wise not what you would pair with a HT receiver.

As for your cables, Blue Jeans cables are fine and get the job done ... do not change them. Said differently and without any disrespect or attitude intended or implied, we are talking about basic to mid-fi components here and not the level of electronics where swapping in a cable will make jaws drop and babies weep and women swoon (you get my drift).

What has me a bit puzzled is that the Music Hall (in stock form) alone should not be upsetting the sound balance to this degree. I have an owned a Music Hall CD 25 for 2 1/2 years and originally paired it with a Harman Kardon 3370 receiver and it was really very pleasant sounding (Acoustic Research 302 speakers). My hunch is that this system has always been walking on the almost too bright side and the improvements made by the Music Hall are getting you to notice the sound more and you are finding that you do not like all that you hear.

If I were to start anywhere, I would start with the speakers. Afterall, that is what you hear and you do not own by any stretch "excessively bright" amps or sources. I would also be interested in acquiring speakers that are good all-rounders, hold up very well over time, and will pair up well with a variety of different equipment. With that said, I would look at speakers from NHT and PSB .

I suggested these 2 companies, because you get a fairly high performance/price ratio with them and because they also make matching center channel speakers, given that you want to go HT. For monitor style speakers, I would suggest the NHT SB3 ($600) or PSB B25 ($500) and for floorstanders, the NHT ST4 ($1000) or PSB 7PT ($1000).

By the way, the Spendors that you mentioned are great speakers, but think further upstream ... are you not going to be pairing them with a receiver? It may turn out that you will wind up with both a HT receiver and a separate 2 channel amp in the same system ... if you ultimately do, the NHT's and PSB's will not let you down.

When you get to receivers, look to the Denon 2805 or 3805, as well as the ARCAM AVR 2000. They will provide you with good enjoyable sound, if not necessarily hifi nirvana.

Continue to educate yourself on what's out there and try to listen, wherever you can (I have learned more from listening to bar & grill sound set-ups than from most dealers). Also, identify the type of listener & hobbyist that you are ... there is a ton of interesting and great sounding equipment out there ... what do you want your level of interaction to be?

Regards, Rich

I think I am in apparent contradiction with Rich--I would look at the electronics first.

I ran my CD-25 (Shanling CD-S100) with a 70s-vintage HK 930 2-channel receiver (and DH Labs Silver Sonic cables). The 930 is widely regarded as the best-sounding receiver HK ever made and the later HK products I have heard cannot match it. The sound was not too bright and edgy, and this was in a large room with no sound absorption--curtains, upholstered furniture--at all.

I know what you mean about detail, though. The Shanling player can sound very detailed. It was when I swapped in an upmarket power cord that I realized that detail was a tad artificial. The new power cord let me hear closer to the back of the hall. (This is not to say the CD-25 is a bad buy. In its price range I think it is the best.)

If you can swap in an amp you know to sound smooth and warm in another system, that would tell you something about the source of the edgy brightness you hear in yours. My own preference for a movie system would be for solid-state amplification. I have not heard tubes give the slam I feel is needed for special effects unless they cost a lot. SimAudio, Bryston and Audio Refinement are names that come to mind, and I have heard them all sound warm and smooth. Creek is another.

That doesn't mean your speakers are not contributing largely to your edginess, but to me it makes sense to start troubleshooting upstream. Another important factor is room acoustics. It is IMHO better to have a bright-ish rather than an overdamped room, but carpets and some absorption in the corner areas have removed excess brightness for me.

Rich, Thank you for reading my too long post and for writing such a thorough reply. What has me stood is that the brightness only appeared when I entered the MMF CD25 into the equation. The JVC dvd player was a cheapie, but I could listen for hours. That being said, I do hear so much more with the Music Hall player that I want to make it work.
Do others of you share Rich's opinion that the speakers are the probable culprit?

Papertrail, you're certainly at a fork in the road. Jolida and Spendors are fine recommendations, although I'm not a tube guy. Solid state equipment can be very good, especially integrated amps (receivers without tuners) from companies like Arcam, Creek, Portal, and for more money, Herron etc. I understand not having many audition choices, but you really only need one good dealer either local or on the 'net such as Galen Carol, Underwood, Audio Elation or Hollywood. You should be able to rely on quality dealers to help with system synergy. In some circles, good equipment is good equipment, and if it's doing its job correctly it should get along with other good equipment. Auditioning is very important but, sometimes, just not possible. Do some reseach, see what pieces others have put together, ask them about their sound (most of us are happy to extoll the virtues of our systems) and remember cabling and power conditioning will have effects on your sound. You have workable budget and this endeavor is not an easy homework assignment. However, it should be fun. There are more choices than you might imagine, so before you start, get a good nights' sleep and keep a bottle of aspirin nearby. Happy hunting!

One last thing: When all is said and done, this will be YOUR system and YOUR ears and YOUR enjoyment.

Tobias, Are you saying that the addition of a better power cord helped your Shanling? Also, are you suggesting that I try a 2 channel amp with the existing HK? Or would I be better off to look into a 5 channel integrated? Thanks so much.