Help! My system is very bright it hurts my ear

Hello Lowrider.

I think that the very best thing is to get the OP quickly and cheaply to a good place, where he is motivated to find the root cause. I certainly agree that the root cause is the big prize, but it may also be a big challenge.

Should have mentioned above: the best place to insert the signal isolation transformers is on the amplifier input. That removes any nasties upchain, no matter what their origin. If sound improves, and it almost certainly will, then the transformers can be moved to the CD output. If the sound remains the same, the problem is the digital source, and the OP should seriously consider an alternative, like analogue.

For example, my current analogue brightness problem is a big challenge. I am finding that two resonances were destructively interfering in my analogue front end, and when I removed one of them, detail improved, but the sound became unacceptably bright. Am currently dealing with selectively damping each one, so that I get back to an acceptable level of brightness while retaining the increased detail. I followed my own advice (above), and changed capacitors and loading resistors to reduce brightness, which was quick and cheap, because my electronics are home brew. For what it's worth, I now realize that the two interfering resonances were affecting tracking, or introducing distortion which sounded like mistracking - don't know which yet.

Lot of good ideas here, but I would start with $20. I use the trick in my system for exactly this purpose.

Buy a cheap component to act as a filter to attenuate high frequencies, known to techies as a low pass filter. Fortunately, these are readily available as plug and play components, if you know where to look.

What you have to do is pervert a cheap signal isolation transformer, which is cheap because it rolls off the high frequencies, to use as a filter. You want it precisely because of this "defect", which would be a problem in many systems - but that’s the whole point in yours. The fact that it also works to isolate ground faults is just a bonus. I use really cheap transformers ($20 for a stereo pair - the ones I use are called 1st Source GL-100 Ground Loop Isolator - and - heresy alert - it’s for car audio) to tame the brightness of my digital front end (and no, it's not a cheap one). They come with RCA connectors, so they just insert between components, with or without interconnect.

You can daisy chain them for added effect.

Cables are another very good way to tune a system. What tends to cost money in cabling is good transmission of the treble information, which is exactly what you don’t want. So cheaper is probably more effective IN YOUR SYSTEM.

What you want, for your system, are high capacitance cables (thin coax) for interconnect, and low capacitance well-separated conductors for the speakers. That specification comes directly from Maxwell’s Equations - it’s physics, not opinion. Cheaper is probably better IN YOUR SYSTEM.

You might also try some carpeting or fabric wall hangings. I use two Persian carpets on the walls - decorative and effective.

Finally, you may be hearing the electronics. One possibility is the nasty brightness of cheap capacitors in the signal path, especially electrolytics, especially if they have been subjected to a hot environment. That requires surgery on your components, but is well worth it. I have no stock electronics anywhere in my system, other than the cartridge. But that’s a more extreme solution. Try the cheap tricks first.

Audiolad, I agree that Canare makes excellent cables, and use it myself (StarQuad). But I think that it's too neutral for the OP - what is it, about 200 pF per metre? I think that the OP needs more than that, like a box store interconnect, and a selected (but still cheap) speaker wire.