Harshness in Midrange??? Any Help

Normally i would address the room first and foremost..But IMHO its the ARC Ls-16 and low cost Kimber's not doing you any favors. This is a very neutral, but near sterile sounding pre amp. Your 802D's are very good paired with the right amp..Not bright at all, as the previous 802N could tend to be... and the Levinson is rather laid back/dark sounding..Id change out the pre amp to something more tube (lush) and the cables as well. Treat the room for sure regardless..

Being that your pre-amp is an LS16MK2 (6H30 Tube version) and not a MK1(6DJ8) version, that could be your problem. I would remove that from the system and try another pre-amp as a first step. The Kimber Hero and 8TC tend to sound brash in the mids, so here is another weak link. And the Kevlar midrange driver in the 802D's tend to have a very noticeable midrange coloration. Not familiar with the sound of your Levinson amp. Finally, I'm quite certain the Sony SCD-1 uses electrolytic capacitors in the output stage that I have found to sound harsh in similiar Japanese cd players. Sorry for the negative comments but we all are only trying to help you out.

Good Luck

I doubt seriously that any cable will have enough effect on the sound to make it harsh or not, unless of course it is defective.

I agree with the initial response from Driver. Play around with your toe-in and positioning of speakers in relation to your listening positioning. Seeming small changes in toe-in/distance can make a surprising difference.