accepting the fact that room treatments are out of order (which i totally respect), i do think cables could help a bit.
if you could ever audition a set of van den hul carbon cables (rca versions are: "the first", "the first ultimate", or my favorite "the first metal screen" {they are the most hum resistant of the rca options, which doesn't usually matter except in phono connections in my system}; and balanced is "the second"), you may be pleasantly surprised at how they tame a bright system. in some cases too much, but in your room maybe they would be just right. in my experience they don't so much roll off the high end as recess it, which is what you're looking to do it sounds.
a nice all-copper speaker cable would be a good idea as well. as WAF is an issue here, anti-cables could be a good fit visually, they're tiny.
and if you're still using stock power cords on your components, a $50 power cord from, say MAC, might make a noticeable difference in adding bottom end to fill out the sound.
so in a perfect world, you could find some used vdh firsts for around $150, try some anti cable speaker cables for around $75, and try a MAC power cable for $50-$75 and then you'd know if cables can help you out...
good luck, though, i'm with you, i HATE brightness. my favorite tv program is rugby matches from new zealand and the sound quality is so bad - worse even than the sound from any other country's feeds - that i have to turn off my system and listen to the tv speakers. annoying.
if you could ever audition a set of van den hul carbon cables (rca versions are: "the first", "the first ultimate", or my favorite "the first metal screen" {they are the most hum resistant of the rca options, which doesn't usually matter except in phono connections in my system}; and balanced is "the second"), you may be pleasantly surprised at how they tame a bright system. in some cases too much, but in your room maybe they would be just right. in my experience they don't so much roll off the high end as recess it, which is what you're looking to do it sounds.
a nice all-copper speaker cable would be a good idea as well. as WAF is an issue here, anti-cables could be a good fit visually, they're tiny.
and if you're still using stock power cords on your components, a $50 power cord from, say MAC, might make a noticeable difference in adding bottom end to fill out the sound.
so in a perfect world, you could find some used vdh firsts for around $150, try some anti cable speaker cables for around $75, and try a MAC power cable for $50-$75 and then you'd know if cables can help you out...
good luck, though, i'm with you, i HATE brightness. my favorite tv program is rugby matches from new zealand and the sound quality is so bad - worse even than the sound from any other country's feeds - that i have to turn off my system and listen to the tv speakers. annoying.