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How do I smooth out violins?

I have a decent system (bit of a mixed bag) but know that I can achieve a smoother, more integrated, and more relaxed massed violin sound. I listen to a ton of orchestral music and notice that massed violins in their upper registers (1500-3500 Hz) often jump out from the mix and sound a bit harsh, unlike what one hears live. Right now, I have the following:

Spendor SP1/2E
McCormick DNA-125 (original)
NAD 1600 (pre/tuner)
Marantz CD3000
Audioquest Sidewinder ICs
Audioquest Type 4

Would a tube pre help (maybe a AA M3A)? I'm thinking that the NAD may be the culprit. Any advice from those of you who have quested for "real" violin sound is very much appreciated.
bojack
sai
8 posts
 
Is this violin sound good enough for you?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-kQPEj7znE
This was recorded with a Sony HD recorder direct from speaker.
sai
8 posts
 
Suggested recording for test: RCA Living Stereo (SACD) Heifetz/Munch Beethoven Violin Concerto, or the Sibelius Violin Concerto also played by Heifetz.
sai
8 posts
 
Suggested recording for test: RCA Living Stereo (SACD) Heifetz/Munch Beethoven Violin Concerto, or the Sibelius Violin Concerto also played by Heifetz.
bobnegi
25 posts
 
1)tube buffer
2)acoustic treatments
3)tape a square of toiler paper over the tweeter

The tube buffer/treatment combo certainly helped tame the violins through my system

Sai, thanks for the youtube link, Sai, as in Sai Babba? Emoting from Nirvana?

Or you could just spend a million bucks and get yourself some proper equipment (facetious)
mikewerner
119 posts
 
Interesting.
I play the violin everyday. So does my son.
Reference real sound, and proceed from there.
Massed violins are hard to reproduce. The information is very complex and the ear is very sensitive.
I believe that there is no cutting corners for accurate reproduction. You can mask an error in the playback chain and make it more tolerable by adding more distortion but the original distortion and the added distortion can't be corrected once there. Stacking the distortions is like trying to correct for too much salt by adding more oregano to your soup.
Unfortunately, distortion creeps in everywhere. It must be minimized.
There is no free lunch. Cables ring, digital jitters, amps feedback, speakers make a mess, etc.
The only way I have improved playback is by minimizing distortion, not masking it.
It is not an art. It is science. Go from there.
This lesson repeats itself over and over again.
We are not monkeys typing Shakespeare, we have reason.
There are many ways to mess it up, only one way to get it right. Limit distortion!
-Mike
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