Which cable will reduce harshness of CD player?

Buckingham - I would recommend that, before you "neuter" the sound of your system with interconnects, you might try a different power cord on the unit.

Adding a Shunyata Black Mamba would be a good place to start and will instantly remove the digital hash that NO interconnect can remove without damaging or limiting the signal from your source.

Once the new Power Cord is in your system, you can better determine the best IC's - which may be the ones you already have.

Might want to try audioquest topaz ic's, you can pick up a used pair rather cheaply. They are smooth and laid back, this might be a cheaper fix then some of the other ideas if that matters.

Thanks for all the help guys :)
I am getting my Quadlinks in the post this week. I am currently using AQ Hyperlitz 2 for spkr cables and Custom House Barracuda for IC's on the MF A3 CD Player. From most of the reviews I have heard, the A3 CD player isn't bright, so I'm guessing it's mostly cabling. I'm going to take all you considerations into account and stick with the Cardas Quadlink 5C to start and like BWhite said, the AC cord. My uncle is going to lend me his Cardas Golden Cross AC cord to try out. Will keep you posted.

ps. If the cabling doesn't make me happy I'm going to try and find a warmer/analog-like cd player like Chelillingworth said.

Hi Buckingham - the Cardas Golden PC will most certainly warm things up for you. I never found it to be the ultimate PC for source components since it actually seems to perform better on amps, but at least this will make you a believer about the benefits of aftermarket power cords.

Digital front ends have a way of tossing a large amount of "hash" back into the sound pool. The hash is often perceived as brightness.

You can drive yourself insane by changing interconnects to remove this but the only real way to solve the problem is with a good power cord. Lower resolution ICs will remove or choke the brightness but can also place constraints on the precious signal which audiophiles work so hard to preserve - therefore I must recommend a decent power cord for your source. This will remove the nasties and help you make better IC decisions in the future. Once you feel you've found the right power cord, then you will want to look at your ICs.

Another source of brightness could be your room.

ase z-man will do the same thing as a musical fidelity x-10. this was the only way i could tolerate cd... until i got a tubed preamp! ;~)

killer cd upgrade, for less than the cost of the i/c's you're considering, is the art di/o adc/dac. check the threads here & on the aydio asylum.

doug s.