I noticed brightness/harshness more than usual from my system a couple months back.


My system is not high end by any stretch see my virtual system. A couple months back I noticed brightness/harshness when playing my lp Steely Dan Aja the song Deacon Blues. I had never noticed this before. This is one of my best sounding LPs. I hear it on others too. Sometimes it's subtle, other times it stands out, sometimes I think all is OK. Weird!  I never noticed this before. I always liked the sound of my system. Something changed, but what? I am approaching 70 years old and I am wondering if my ears are more sensitive to high frequencies. But anyway I started by checking my cartridge. Visual inspection. Adding and reducing tracking force. Anti skate too. Moved speakers away from and closer to the walls. Cleaned all connections with deoxit. Even sent the cartridge to The Sound Organization to be checked. They did not find anything. I am not able to rearrange my listening area or add room correction. Just nowhere to go.

I would assume if the speakers or integrated were defective I would know it. Something like that would stand out. Yes? I am thinking it is probably a combination of bright speakers, bright amp, bright cartridge and old ears.

So if nothing is broke.... I am considering replacing the speakers would work. Maybe Wharfedale Lintons. I can afford them or something in this price range. Maybe the cartridge? Hana SL or ML.  Maybe the integrated? But with what I have no idea. Naim SuperNait 3 caught my eye though I would need to save a long time to afford it. I am retired and on a fixed income. Really fixed! There is nowhere close I can audition any of these. 

I realize I am asking alot but any suggestions would be great!

 

 

oharek

For an easy option, try installing a pair of V-Cap ODAM capacitors in your DAC, preamp or amplifier.  They could help you out for not that much money.  Or you can try Amtrans capacitors for a lot less to see if that makes an impact you are looking for.

 

Happy Listening.

 

@oharek Try to figure out if it’s coming out of one speaker or both.

Think back the past few months, have you moved or changed any cable, any components, anything lately? I always go back to checking all connections 1st.

I’ve seen this occur with a damaged interconnect, or a speaker cable connector is not fully seated. As previously noted, start with very simple detective work first.

Unplug everything if you have to and start over. Worth a try before buying anything.  

 

 

I think your record or the stylus is worn out and distortion is the consequence.

If you notice this harshness with both sources and many albums, it’s your system. 
It could be power related. One suggested without breaking your bank, if you are using stock power cords, try a good power cord on your amplifier. Don’t need to go crazy. And plug the amp directly into wall outlet. 
Here’s an AudioQuest power cable on USAM. Should work fine on your amp and should tame that harshness a bit.