Well... guess I have to jump in the rabbit hole of speaker cables... lol

I have changed the pre with a cool tube “chifi” pre... replaced all tubes with solid tubes ( I’m a guitarist and use only tube amps, so I know the process... same. And to be honest, with the tube upgrade it sounds very very good.
xlr and rca switched... same

I REALLY hope it’s not the Mac pre. I have always wanted one and finally got the money to get it... I would be bummed.

I’m really hoping the A21 will do the trick. Mr Kelly thinks they will be a great match. 

This two channel thing is getting complicated... lol

When I was rocking the Crown pre and DC 300 with the L 100’s life was so simple. Lol

I had Martin Logans before the 10 T’s and had nothing but problems with their reliability. Went to the 10 T’s and really want to get it right and enjoy listining again. 

I am looking forward to the surprise cables coming.

Thanks to all who take the time to help me. It’s a frustrating period...

What are the ic’s ? Bad cables will definitely deter achieving great sound. First reflection surface quite important too. That said if the sound is raspy/sibilant listening right in front of the speaker you will have to consider the speaker. Is it a metal dome of some type? 

I doubt it’s the Mac preamp.  One thing McIntosh is not is raspy.  Look elsewhere within the system. 

I agree with stereo5.   

Your cables are definately a problem. Low quality cabling will lose bass information which will make the top end  raspy also the Denon CD player is probably not up to snuff. 

A more revealing loudspeaker will show you things that were in the system that you didn't know where there.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ