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My system is bright? I need help. thanks

Hi. it is my first time here in this forum. i would appreciate input and help from all of you. No sacrasm or bad langauge please. I had bad experience with other forums in that aspect. music loving people and audiophiles should be an elite, high caliber and classy community. This is rare to find today. Ok Down to the point.

My system
Musical fidelity kw 500 sacd player. I use the tube output.
Musical fidelity kw 500 integrated amp.
speakers:eggleston andra (not andra 2)
speaker cable: satori acoustic zen
interconnects: Nordost baldur and nordost quatrofil RCA
USe a dedicated 20 amp line with regular power cords(came with the gear) and a panamax 20 amp surge protector and filter.

This is in my family room so there is little room for treatment and moving things around.

problem: bright. the highs are killing my ears, after 1-2 hours of listening my ears start to hurt,sometimes 3 minutes. I have to turn the volume down. I tried postioning, it got a little better. I will try acoustic zen silver ref II may be it will help. The sound is otherwise phenomenal, i could be happy with more bass, but overall it is very good. Depth, tranparency, acuity and soundstaging are great. As for mids, i can see the person infront of me,I can hear the articulation of the tongue in the mouth before the words and tunes comes out. no kidding, but not for long because of fatigue.

I would really appreciate your input.
Scientist73
scientist73
boa2's avatar
boa2
1,551 posts
 
From my perspective, the troubleshooting list is the same, though I would also try and play with speaker toe-in/out. Also, is the plasma sitting between the speakers? I couldn't tell from your description. They can really brighten things up. I don't know if you can possibly drape something over it during listening sessions.
Otherwise:
1) ICs
2) PCs
3) Plug amp directly into the wall
4) McIntosh MC402 & possibly tube preamp (unless running direct satisfies you)

Thank you for a thorough explanation. It's much easier for the crowd to make suggestions when we can fully understand the factors at hand. Best of luck, and please post how things resolve for you.
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
i owned a musical fidelity a5 and have listened to musical fidelity based systems many times. the musical fidelity components are ruthless.

i have lived with acoustic interconnect cables--interconnect and speaker. they are not warm.

eggleston speakers are very revealing. even discounting the ac and the room, your electronics and cable are part of the problem.

i am sorry if i may have offended you by indirectly criticizing your stereo system, but i think your electronics and possibly cables are sources of extra energy in the upper mid/lower treble region.

what is the solution. try a more vintage tube sound. the top of the line vac integrated amp is worth a listen (yes, it's expensive). as for cable, dcca, chimera labs and sunny cable technology cable are worth a listen.

i am looking for a digital source myself and am disappointed in what is available right now. i am afraid the industry is heading in the direction of more and more resolution with the byproduct of imbalnced sounding components.

if you want to have a longer conversation on the subject you can contact me directly.
wellfed's avatar
wellfed
690 posts
 
I would audition some component isolation products before I resorted to swapping out cables. I've had very good success with Herbie's and Machina Dynamica products. If you have windows in your listening room try some Marigo damping dots on them. I formerly had a VERY bright presentation and the products I've mentioned took care of that issue and provided some seriously good side-effects as well. After that issue is resolved I would then look at your cabling if you would still desire to do so.
tarsando
578 posts
 
Turn the volume down! Also, a tradeoff between high resolution and brightness. You hear all the detail because it presents everything magnified. Good luck. With the quality of equipment you have, fussing with expensive cables shouldnt be necessary (I know Im in the minority on these opinions but what the hey...like I said,,good luck).
reubent
6,939 posts
 
MrT,

Did you ever get a listen to the Resolution Audio Opus 21? I don't find it at all fatiguing in my system. Also, I have a neighbor who is a vinyl junkie and a classical composer. He bought the non-Oversampling version of the Consonance 120 CD player and loves it. It cost him about 1/4th the price of a new Opus 21.

Enjoy,

TIC
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