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Upper Midrange Glare problem

I am seeking advice to eliminate hard upper midrange glare. I spent alot of money and the sound improved, but the glare is still present. Is there something wrong with my set up, or etc? My systems is as follows:

Counterpoint DA 11.5 transport with Shunyata King Cobra.
Sonic Frontiers SFD 2 MK II DAC with Shunyata Black Mamba.
Sonic Frontiers SFL 1 Signature Pre Amp with Shunyata Viper.
All above components connected to the PS Audio P300 with a Shunyata King Cobra attached to it.

Bryston 7B ST Mono block with PS Audio Lab Cables connected to two Ultimate outlets which is connected to XLO Type 10 powercords to the wall outlet.

Speakers PSB Stratus Gold, placed 3 ft away from rear wall 2 1/2 ft from side wall, room is 15'wide 21'deep
8 1/2tall. Listening distance is 9 ft away from speakers.

Cables:
Digital - Illuminati D60 - BNC and Illuminati DX-50 - XLR
Interconnects - AudioQuest Diamond X2 - RCA
Speaker Cables - AudioQuest Dragon to highs and Clear 3 to bass.
All Cables are raised by ceramic tiles.

Brights star foundation platforms, tip toes, for each component sitting on a Stand design rack, set of room tunes corners, side walls and tune stripes.

New additions will be XLO limited edition XLR digital cable and Siemens CCa tubes for SFD 2 MK II. Will be here shortly.

Very fraustrated. Any suggestions will be openly noted, thanks.

bowlerds
jcbtubes
400 posts
 
Aragain- Though I don't discount your view on cables, my experience in my systems have suggested otherwise. I guess it comes down to the term "subtle effects." In absolute terms, you're quite right. However, in terms of musical appreciation or increased emotional connection to the original musical event, the differences can be quite profound.
Synergy is the key within the contexts of the system. Numbers, including price tag, and manufacturer's hype won't guarantee a great match. You have to personally experience the sound in situ and then decide.
Dekay- I usually start with about a 1 ft width, 2"-3" thick piece of Sonex that's about 4 ft in length. Position it so that the top of the Sonex is about a foot above the baseboard.

Just my .02.
aragain
39 posts
 
Jcbtubes - I agree completely.

What I'm trying to say is - if a person says their system is so far out of whack they can't listen to it then we're out of the realm of cable optimizations. The system problem should be found and corrected.

It's like having a car that pulls to the left and 'fixing' it by dragging a block of cement from the right rear. Ok, the car no longer pulls to the left but you still don't have a properly functioning car. People are entitled to that approach but it seems there is so much more performance available if the root cause is corrected.
dekay's avatar
dekay
5,855 posts
 
Thanks JC: I will start with my 6' and 5' tall (foamcore) free standing Empire State Building and Sears Tower. They won't do much good from the listening position on the sofa, but should be easy to place for near field listening.
jcbtubes
400 posts
 
Hey, Dekay - Does the miniature, giant gorilla (oxymoron intended) on the E.S.B. throw off the imaging?
jcbtubes
400 posts
 
Bow- The Herron is an excellent choice for a pre-amp upgrade. Once it is fully broken in and you have a good feel for how it sonically fits in your system, be sure to play with different NOS tubes.
Also, I'm sure that you've already thought about it. But, if you don't have separate, dedicated A/C feeds for the system, definitely check into it. The gains can be significant, even though you're using the PS.

Aragain- I certainly agree with you. I've had system configurations that were tolerable, but gave no enjoyment at all. In several instances, otherwise good cables were the culprit. The tough part is knowing where the imbalance lies. Too many systems have been built using nothing but "Stereopile A" rated equipment and cables with no real insight for synergy, and sound like it.
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