How make my Ayre system "warmer"?

That's some really fine equipment you have there, Tje. But perhaps most or all of it is too consistently in the direction of being analytical, revealing, and neutral. Overall, perhaps too much of a good thing.

Along the lines of what some of the others have suggested, I think that addressing cables, power cords, etc., would not provide the significant change that you are seeking. I would look into supplementing your Linn player with a quality tube cd player -- use the Linn for dvd's, etc., and a tube cd-only or sacd + cd player for audio-only material. That should be a way of really making a difference, for modest cost.

I have had no exposure to it, but the Doge 6 looks very intriguing to me, for modest cost: http://www.pacificvalve.us/DOGE6.html

Regards,
-- Al

On a budget, Jolida JD100, try some tube rolling to tweak the sound to your ears desire.

Yes, I agree the room can be the single most dominant factor in terms of system-sound, particularly tone. What are your dimensions? Are there a lot of continuous flat, reflective surfaces? If so, you might consider treating them.

After that, I'd look at a speaker change. Ayre SS equipment is well-known for quality and neutrality, but combined with ceramic drivers, the system doesn't seem optimized for warmth. Have you considered Sonus Faber? The new Cremona M or the original, Serblin-designed Cremona? Or Verity speakers? Rienzi, Fidelio, or Parsifal? These are on the warm side.

A controversial measure might be to consider replacing your Shunyata speaker cables with Cardas Golden Cross (after audition, that is). That should warm the system, but many would argue this would also be using cables as "tone controls" and not favor the approach for that reason. An inexpensive way to try a set of warmer cables out, short of auditioning Cardas GC, is to get a pair of Audioquest Midnight 2 or 3 speaker cables. These are good, on the warm side, and cheap.

But, I'd start by looking at your room first.

Good luck.

I would go with what Mrtennis said. If you want more warmth, go with valve amplification.

I do not deny that the above posters who are urging you to fix your room have a point, but fixing the room will not change the harmonic structure of your amp-speaker combo. Fixing the room (in my experience) does not give a sterile sounding system warmth. Rather, fixing the room improves imaging, gives you a more consistent frequency response (provided you did it right!), and gets rid of ringing. If you want warmth, which I take to mean a predominance of even order harmonics, you either get an amp or speaker that does this.

Well, tell us about your room and speaker placement. Do female vocalists often seem "shouty" leading you to turn the volume down. If so, that's a symtem of poor speaker placement, with lots of intermodulation distortion in the room. Search for Sumiko Master Set for some ideas about properly setting your speakers. This is a highly likely problem.

Also, do you hear a lot of glare and edge? That would likely be coming from you CDP. Unfortunately fixing that costs dollars. Tubes won't clear this up. Great tubes and great SS sound pretty much alike. Unfortunately the bad SS, which you don't have, sounds harsh and bad tubes can sound euphonically warm. The best of both are very, very close to each other, and expensive.

So, tell us about your room and start looking around for a superior CDP.

Dave