Can "Dark"Sounding Speakers Be "Brightened"UP???

@mlsstl , One should only spend as much on cables for max detail retrieval/preservation. Unfortunately, many dumb dudes spend on cables for tonal changes. Well...if every forum dude had enough noodle in his noggin to secure a engineering PhD, it would be an utopian society indeed. But, the stoopid tends to be larger in numbers always ( in comparison to the brighter ones). So, don’t bother....lol

@freediver Try the Benchmark stack on it, AHB2 amp | LA4 preamp | DAC3B dac. You can always try this on a home trial or take a chance and buy used.

With warm speakers this stack would open up the sound. Doesn't the Decco have a tube in it. Warm speakers with a tube is not my type of system.

A cheaper option is a Class D like the PeachTree GAN400. I am putting my up for sale on USAM.

Put a streamer into the path instead of going direct via USB from the laptop. Not so much for your issue but to improve everything in the sound.

I have not heard the Decco but owned the PeachTree Nova 150. That is terrible compared to the new Peachtree gear such as the GAN400 and better yet, the GAN1 (but should modded it by tweakaudio). I replaced $15K of gear wit the $1200 GAN1 + $600 mods. However, that unit can ONLY stream via SPDIF, no analogue sources allowed. I used ROON to both stream to that and control volume. I replaced my Benchmark stack with the GAN1 since it was similar for lower cost, though eventually the lack of analogue inputs made me sideline the GAN1 only for headphones.

Just a thought but can you make the cabinet "bigger"? Maybe take out some of the stuffing?

I once made a speaker with a cabinet that was too big (like 2x too big) and the sound was bright. Filling it up with blocks of wood, the sound became darker. Actually too dark now, so I am taking some blocks back out.

@deep_333 well, I just did it: I replaced my previous speaker cables (silver plated copper + teflon) with some Duelund DCA cable, and it has shifted the tonality of the system, towards a darker, more laidback presentation. Just what I was hoping it would do.

It can be done the other way around too.

I vastly prefer to fine tune my system using cables than insert another active stage creating phase shifts / distortion.

But, you do you!

@freediver 

What you are describing is an amplitude problem, frequency response. He is using a computer and there are EQ plug ins that can be used to correct this. The smartest way to do this is to get a USB microphone with an amplitude program and measure the response of the speakers in his room. Then you adjust the EQ to get as flat as possible from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. Flat is always the best starting point. Next is to find the target curve that he likes best. The curve that most of us prefer will have the high frequencies rolled off at about 3 dB/octave from 2 kHz. 20 kHz will be about 9 to 12 dB down. Flat is usually too bright. Next will be a bass boost at 3 dB/oct from about 150 Hz down so the bass is up about 9 dB at 20 Hz. The only way your friend will get to know what he prefers is to play around with it and listen to different curves.