Arcam A85 / EPOS ESL3's sounding too Bright

Owned the EPOS ESL3's for a while and they were not bright sounding at all ... perhaps a little boxy sounding, which was more due to how I had them placed. I had them paired with a vintage Marantz receiver and Signal Speaker Cables & Interconnects. In the HIFI review of the EPOS, their only caveat was to pair them with quality amplification, in fact better amplification than you would normally provide for $300 speakers. Can not imagine why this combination would sound so bright that your ears would hurt. Are the speakers connected in phase? If you are willing to do some research, there was a thread either here or in Audio Asylum in the last month, about an ESL3 owner who took apart his speakers and removed some loose tape or something similar to that.

Regards, Rich

Have not heard the Epos, but I know the Arcam stuff. Have the speakers been fully broken in? What about speaker location and your position relative to speakers? Could be the room too.

First of all, thanks for the replies, I should have clarified the fact that the problem seems to go away when I put the grills back on. I re-read the stereophile review on them a couple of days ago, and they said that they perform better with the grills off. There was a noticable improvement as far as detail and highs are concerned, but it came at a price... I put the grills back on last night, and I can listen to my system again... however, you should be able to get the detail and no listening fatigue at the same time.
Thanks,
John

From the reviews Ive read the Arcam A85 is a lively sounding amp which when paired with Epos might result in a bright combo. The lower end Arcams such as the A65 plus (which Ive owned)and the older models are warmer sounding.

I agree with Bundee1. The A85 might be too neutral in the upper mid and treble region. The most Epos speakers are voiced so that the upper mid is emphasized.

Together, I can understand your complaint.