Mixed Results from My Hifi

If his happy with other recordings, then why change anything for the few bad ones?

From his initial post: "But mass produced pop and rock are almost unlistenable." I took this to indicate that the three recordings he listed were but a few examples of a problem affecting a wide range of music. Maybe I've interpreted this incorrectly. I've heard all three of these CD's, and have never found them unlistenable from a sonics perspective. The components in his system, however, are highly likely to produce exactly the compressed, digital sound he describes, and only made worse by that room.

Having speakers close to the back wall will frequently make the sound congested. A couple of feet spacing will help greatly.

Hardwood floors are also not good, though I must admit hardwood is my first choice in flooring for other reasons.
Rugs can help, particularly if placed at the primary reflection point.

Drapes over large windows will also help a great deal.

"New Shimmer™ is a floor wax."

"No, it's a desert topping."

"No, it's a floor wax."

"Wait! You're both right! New Shimmer™ is a floor wax and a desert topping!"

I agree with Boa2 that it's likely the problem stems from the equipment and the room acoustics. I think people who say that so many of their recordings sound poor because their system's are sooooo revealing are kidding themselves. The vast majority of recordings can sound pleasing if the system and room acoustics will allow it. I have a very resolving system and only a very small portion of all my recordings sound poor. The bulk of my recordings sound either very good or spectacular. This is what you should be shooting for.

In this poster's case, certain solutions were offered that could work well. Changing equipment, using a tube DAC, using an equalizer, and looking at room treatments, especially to address early reflections, could all work very well.

I would probably look at options for room treatments first, try the tube DAC and/or different amp second (fine-tuning the system cabling [interconnects in particular] might also help considerably). The EQ route would represent a viable option if the other measures failed or were not possible due to the dreaded WAF...

I'd think a Krell amp powering B&Ws in a room with hardwood floors would be as bright as the Coppertone™ girls cute little bum. Nice looking system by the way.