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Cables for Musical Fidelity/Dynaudio system?

Okay...here's the problem. I have the new Musical Fidelity X-150 amp and X-Ray CD player.
I've just tried out some Dynaudio 52SE speakers, along with Tara Labs Reference Generation 2 interconnects and speaker cables.
The sound is bloated and, to my ears far to heavy in the mids, obscuring highs and most fine texture. Take my word for it, I've tried every positioning option. The sound is like having a loudness control on all the time. I suspected the speakers were to blame. I burned them in some more, but nothing changed.
I contacted the dealer and he arranged for me to hear the exact same setup at his showroom, but this time with B&W 805 speakers. I expected greater detail and clarity but to my amazement the sound was very similar. Again bloated and flabby. This suggested to me the amp or cable was to blame.
The dealer said it must be the amp. He demonstrated this by changing the Musical Fidelity for a Krell and keeping everything else the same.
The difference was astonishing. The bloat disappeared totally and the highs were far clearer (but not harsh). This was how I knew the CD I'd brought for audition purposes should sound.
Knowing that the Dynaudios at home sounded similar to the B&W with the Musical Fidelity/Tara Labs combo, the obvious (maybe too obvious) conclusion was that the substitution of another amp could be better for the Dynaudios too. BUT...
The problem I have with all this is that the dealer was very keen to sell me a Krell system and wasn't too interested in investigating the cables. I mean, could silver cables (for example) bring the best out of the Musical Fidelity and remove the objectionable heavy mids and allow some sparkle up top?
Before I dismiss the rest of the system, I'd like to know if people's experience leads them to believe the Tara Labs cables are a bad match for this setup. Unfortunately, the dealer sells only Tara Labs cables so I had no chance to compare others.
I would really like the Musical Fidelity system to sound acceptable - it's a totally neat combination and I'm certain it's capable of more than the dull sound I've heard so far.
Any thoughts on this?
Thanks.
wrightstuff

Showing 1 response by jetsons

jetsons
17 posts
 
It may be the MF. I'm not familiar with the X-150 but had a Musical Fidelity A300 on trial for over a month with Dynaudio Audience 70s and had a very similar experience. Break in was not an issue as the MF was a demo unit.

The mids were way over bloated and bass was not exactly tight & exaggerated. The signature on the MF remained unchanged during the trial period. Cabling changes in my system did not solve the problems which did not come as a surprise. BTW, I also tried silver ICs (HG Silver Lace) and nada!

Keep listening and you'll end up with a much better match for your Dyns. Next time around, perhaps your dealer will allow you to test drive the gear in your system.

Jet
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