Tips for warming up Rotel + B&W system?

Stuartk - My intention is not to rain on anyone's parade...

But -

2 things are going on here.

1. You bought bad gear. If you have other local dealers around, try bringing home something like a PrimaLuna tube integrated and Von Sweikert speakers. That is just an example, but the problem here is that Rotel gear is mid-fi at best, and if you don't have a room working wonders on your system, it is going to sound harsh with minimal midrange texture. That is SS for you, and Rotel is cheap SS, so.... Also, B&W speakers are known for: harsh highs, spotty and dry midrange, poor driver integration, etc. The 703s are perhaps one of the worst offenders of this. I would bring home some other speakers to compare and find some reference points to these 703s. Are there other local dealers that carry other makes of speakers, or does this one? What brands are local to you?

2. The room needs to be addressed. Become an expert in acoustics, get in touch with a company like Rives audio to talk about your room. Make sure your dimensions are good, the speakers are placed properly (try cardas or AP positioning), and that you have adequate damping in all the important places.

Don't waste your time trying to EQ your stereo with cables or other silly tweaks. Fancy cables will maybe give you a 1-2% improvement, whereas the right speaker choice, well setup room, good speaker placement, and a quality tube amp/preamp system will be 98-99% improvement.

good luck

First of all, let the speakers break in. I suggest about 500 hours of playing on moderate volume. Your amp will break in as well during this time. Second, are your speakers bi-wired? If not, B&Ws may sound offensive through upper mids when run with a single run speaker cable, resulting in listening fatigue. Another point to mention - the cables on the cd player. try different interconnects and the Audience powerChord, which is a great match for digital components.

There are some good ideas on this thread, but I wouldn't be too fast on replacing the B&Ws and going with Tubes. The advantages of good SS are well established and Rotel makes a pretty good Amplifier. I would try a Hybrid (SS/Tubes) Digital Source Component from say Musical Fidelity or Cary Audio, I'd recommend buying one used, trying it for a bit and then if your not happy, sell it.
I would start @ the Source, it may solve your problem and you can stop there.

BTW: B&W sold more Speakers worldwide last year than all of their competitors combined, more R&D money was spent in developing the "Diamond Tweeter" than most High-End Speaker Companies spend developing an entire line. There must be more than a few nice sounding systems out there that utilize B&W Speakers, just a guess...

I still say you may want to give the Dakiom Feedback Stabilizers a shot. You can return them if they don't work. If you decide that you want to improve your digital front end, then perhaps it would be reasonable to consider a high end dac.