Mcintosh MQ112

FWIW, my 802 D Diamonds are neutral, not bright at all.  You need to work on setup.  As a quick place to start, play with speak toe in.  Start with no toe in at all.  You might find Paul McGowan's book on speaker set up helpful from his series The Audiophile's Guide.  Another option would be to seek the help of someone to help you optimize your system in your home.  I can assure you that your speakers are excellent when properly set up.

If using an EQ makes your listening more enjoyable then use one. But i would try something less expencive to try, like the Schiit Audio EQ's they are clean enough and work well to let you know if an EQ is something for you. And wont cost more then a couple hundred bucks. 

The brightness might depend on the source material.  I usually find that good recordings do not sound bright at all.   What preamp do you have ?  On perceived bright recordings, maybe, just adjust the preamp tone controls ?  ie.  one or two clicks down on the treble and one or two clicks up on the bass.  

@glennewdick Wrote:

If using an EQ makes your listening more enjoyable then use one.

I agree!

@onehorsepony Wrote:

Before tossing them aside, what do you feel about adding a Mcintosh MQ112 equalizer after my preamplifier?

I would say good idea,  I use a White Instrument 4100 EQ ten bands per channel.

Mike

The B&W 800 series are not excessively bright, and certainly not crap. In general, they are a tad bright... which is why they are often paired with MacIntosh equipment which tends to lack detail and is strong in midrange and bass. If they seem excessively bright, then it is a question of electronics and setup. I own five 805 Matrix... they sound great. Equalization should be reserved for very inexpensive systems or extraordinary setup problems. It is symptomatic relief, best fix the problem. 

To really help. We will need to know the rest of your components and setup. There is a place to put photos and ID equipment under your user ID; Virtual Systems. With this we could probably bring specific recommendations. 

Most likely source of excessive treble. Trebly electronics, speakers pointed directly at you... so toeing out the speakers can help.