Interconnect help for a NEUTRAL system

Dogpile,

I've found the brightness of MLs is often curbed by powercord treatment as opposed to ICs. Good luck.

Tok 20000, I've considered Quattro Fil but it's not in the budget.

Twl / Nighthawk, thanks, I'll stay away from silver. Don't think I'll like the added brightness or detail.

Newbee / Sonic_genius, I'll consider rolling tubes after I buy some ic's, which is what I need at this moment.

catch you cats on the rebound.

I'll throw my usual spanner in the works by opining that I don't find my Cardas Cross cables to be 'warm' despite the conventional wisdom reputation associated with the brand (they're actually brighter- and faster-sounding than my Harmonic Tech Pro-Silways), and also that I've never heard Martin-Logans to sound bright in and of themselves (they've usually sounded a little laid-back through the presence range and somewhat rolled in the top octave). You don't state your specific components (other than the speaker cables) or speakers involved, so I'll hazard a guess and say that the impedance and capacitance issues inherent to 'stats *may* be combining with your power amp and speaker cables as a network to create the problem - it's been known to happen. But the other humongous issue with dipole panels is, of course, in-room placement, the effects of which can vary wildly, depending on just about everything. (I do applaud your desire to aim for neutrality as much as you can.)

As Zaike notes, I can only take a guess -- & propose you also try Bearlabs (IC & speaker) & Nordosts (speaker); simply on the strength of good experiences with both on stats.

For what it's worth look at Discovery Essence ICs. They are quite neutral, yet revealing and musical.