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Need cable to soften brightness just a little?

Would appreciate some hand holding on solving a small problem. I think a different cable interconnect might be what I need. Right now I am using Blue Jeans interconnects.

Have three new variables in our TV Stereo system.
New Oppo UDP-205
Musical Fidelity A3cr Preamp
Pioneer SX-1050 Stereo Receiver (bypassing it’s preamp)

Still in use is the Arcam SR250 AV Receiver.
Speakers are floor standing Spendor FL-6.

I am an opera lover and classical music devotee and like really good audio. The Arcam SR250 is just perfect for ordinary tv watching, but I soon found out it can’t equal the musicality of a good stereo receiver, so I rigged up a way of using my Audiomat Arpege tube amp for musical program listening.   But  I just found a better use for the Arpege and decided to replace it with the Musical Fidelity Preamp and the Pioneer Receiver.   The Oppo is just a few days old as well, replacing an Oppo BDP-83SE.

There is a big improvement in clarity of spoken dialogue.
Everything sounds brighter and clearer and there is an unmistakable sense of power from the much more powerful Pioneer.
Musically it is harder to evaluate. At first there was a feeling of “wow, major improvement”, but on further listening it feels a little bright. Might be the sort of brightness that causes music fatigue.

How do I take just a little of the edge off the brightness without losing the wonderful clarity I’m getting?

And how to go about figuring out which of the three is causing that little bit of edginess.


128x128echolane
echolane's avatar
echolane OP
110 posts
 
Thanks much all for the helpful advice. The Oppo has been set up to repeat until I put a stop to it. I am also including the Musical Fidelity and the Pioneer in the continuous play. The Pioneer has only been played once or twice in the last 25 years or more and the Musical Fidelity has only seldom been played of late so it makes sense to assume they need some break in too.

Hoping that’s all that’s needed.

hifiman5's avatar
hifiman5
1,832 posts
 
OP - Experience by most 'philes suggests that your equipment will definitely benefit from a good burn-in.  "Brightness or Brittleness" is often what you might expect from gear that has been long dormant
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,417 posts
 
Yes, continue to run-in your new components.

How do I take just a little of the edge off the brightness without losing the wonderful clarity I’m getting?

Before changing cables, examine how well your room is treated. You may need treatments to absorb and diffuse the mid to high frequencies.

Replacing interconnects will affect the clarity and timbre of your sonics in some manner. IME, using Cardas may help tame brightness, but will change the clarity due to the sonic signature of their cables. The Clear line of cables is more neutral and has clean extended highs, but will still change the overall timbre of your system.
Changing power cables is the only way I have found to tame harshness without changing the overall sound.
Some cables can extend the top-end and some can provide smoother, more organic sonics. PC’s that have helped my system are Pangea, Audience, JPS, PS Audio. OTOH, Signal Cables provided extended highs.
More importantly, clean power from either dedicated lines or power conditioning can treat a fatiguing system.




erik_squires
16,128 posts
 
Room acoustics. :) 

try this, throw some pillows between and behind your speakers on the floor. :) 

Also, GIK acoustics. 
dill
2,532 posts
 
I would suggest you replace the receiver with a suitable power amp that would mate with your preamp. 
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