Audiolover might be on to something. I was also experiencing brightness from my loudspeakers (SF Guarneri's) and beginning to worry about cables, etc. But..to get eh best soundstage/imaging, I have te speakers almost 5 feet our from the back wall and ~ 3.5 ft out from the sides. Although he SFG's can in theory go down to ~ 45 Hx "in room", in this configuration the sound pressure was beginning to drop at ~ 60Hz, and was down a full 14 dB at 40 Hz. The result? I was cranking up the volume to hear the bass, and the speakers were naturally sounding VERY shrill! Well..just added a REL Strata III, and managed to bring the bass response to within 5 dB of reference from 30 Hz on up. Guess what? Not only do I now get bass..but the speakers no longer sound bright, the soundstage is huge, etc., etc. So...get a sub-woofer (after seeing a doctor about the ringing in your ears!). I have no experience with other subs, but the Strate III at $ 1295 was a revelation and extremely flexible/easy to integrate.