Perhaps your speakers are reflecting your system. I have the Paradiam Reference Studio 100v2 speakers and do not find them harsh in my system. They were a bit bright with my first preamp, a Music Fidelity A3CR. But I got a used BAT VK3i (off Audiogon) and the brightness went away. (The interconnects are Blue Heavens, the speaker cables are Kimber 8TC bi-wired, the amp is a Marsh a400s, and the source is a Sony C333ES (SACD) combined with an ML36 DAC for the redbook CDs.) I have no experience with the rest of your system, but the 100v2's in my system are excellent. Having auditioned many speakers in the $1k to $4k range, I found the 100v2's to be a true bargain.