Sibilance in recordings: your experience the same?

Almost forgot, the sibilance could also be partially due to lack of burn in, settling time on new AC lines, I've found a lack of refinement in newly installed lines. I could also be in the recording, you'll have to play a lot more cds in order to determine recording or system at fault.

Thank you gentlemen. I'll stick with the current arrangement for awhile. Starts me thinking about these new power lines. I've seen some pretty ridiculous threads on burn-in (volume knobs??) so I won't even go there...for now. Really...what's the current literature say about that?

Sibilance due to settling time on new AC lines is just as ridiculous as burning in volume knobs so take what you read with a grain of salt.

Given the factors above are attended to, I have found better digital analyzing or decoding, eliminates much of the after edge from voices.

At times it can be difficult to tell if it's entirely the recording, the artist's enounciation, or the replay gear itself.

Reba mcEntire's voice is one of the best on the planet, superior range, emmotive, and evocative. however many of her recordings don't seem to be done with better audio replay gear in mind. Alan Jackson is in the same camp, production wise.

I feel the producer of the album is largely responsible too for artifacts in it's content. though keep in mind whose audience these recordings are targeted for as to the why of it. It wasn't long ago that some genres were mixed in such a way as to be replayed, primarily on a single speaker car radio... or just boom boxes. R&B, Rock, Blues, Pop, etc.

Bluegrass & Folk, for instance is not far removed from being tilted more towards a content oriented sector. Today that same group of devotees are older and consequently possess better replay devices. Add in further refinements in electronic recording gear, and today's 'grass by and large, sounds excellent regardless the level of gear.

Top tier artists also usually get better studio efforts... though not always.

If you pay attention to the producer of the great sounding albums more so than the artists, you'll find you amass a better level of quality recordins in your library.

Annoying sibilance is most likely systemic...not break in and such.
Do you have anything (power conditioner) between the 'box' and your system? I didn't see any reference to one.
Check the wiring to make sure that you have everything wired correctly, and that you're getting 120V from the wall, and that it's clean power.
This is an all day project, one best done with a step by step process, committed to paper beforehand. When you come up on the problem,(polarity, whatever) you'll join the 'flat forehead' society which I founded many years ago.
My oldest rule of audio...."If something sounds wrong, something IS wrong..."
Don't try to rationalize or make excuses. If it sounds wrong it IS wrong...you just have to find out what that wrong thing is.
Good LUCK!