Magnepan 3.7i vocals sound harsh

Congrats on your Pass X250.8. I’ve not heard the XP 10 pre but I’m sure it’s very good. I use an older X250 and love it with my ModWright LS 36.5. If you’re not using good balanced cables I would recommend that and don’t use the stock power cords regardless what the Pass manuals state; my X250 manual stated aftermark power cords don’t make a difference but they do. Hopefully your X250.8 and other components have dedicated circuits or you’re not hearing their best; made a huge improvement with my X250. If you can’t run a dedicated circuit then at least pick up some decent receptacles if you’re only using $2 spec grade which is what most homes have.

Hate to throw in this tidbit after your awesome x250.8 purchase, but a very simple, and easy error for anyone to make, that could cause your issue, is if you have directional cables and just 1 of them is going in the wrong direction.  The parasound is a good piece of equipment, but very detailed and tinnie compared  to the x250, which is amazingly smooth compared to most any SS.  I bring this up, because you mention still hearing grain on 60s recordings....sooo, it is possible that your ear is aclimatized to the reveal of the parasound, and you only think the problem is fixed with the pass labs because of how smooth that amp is...hearing is often just relative perception....take a peak at the directional arrows of all your interconnects and speaker cables.  If you find 1 that is turned wrong, be prepared for your audio nirvana.  If that is not a problem, then hopefully at the very least this comment might help someone else in the future that does make that exact mistake.

I currently owned a pair of 3.7i driven by the CAD 120S MKII, eight high power Golden Lion Genalex tubes, four NOS 6SN7 tubes fed in from a CAD preamp tube with four NOS Telefunken tubes for LP, and two NOS 6SN7 and two high power 6SN7 for CD. They sound rich, warm, lush and full at mid range where all male or female vocals are near life like voices.

Jonto,
After your amp and pre-amp purchase has the harshness gone away? I ask because I’m also experiencing the same problems with Maggie 1.7 series speakers.  I’m starting to look towards my signal generation (PS Audio Perfectwave transport into a Perfectwave DAC) as the major source/revealer of the problem. Like you, I hear a slight, background harshness - a gravel like quality - underneath vocals; mostly rock/pop male vocals, and most noticeably during the chorus parts when three or four male vocalists sing together at full volume - think any Moody Blues or CS&N album. Solo vocal parts and most female vocals are sweet and clear. Instruments however, are always crystal clear and a joy to listen to.
This makes me wonder if it’s the 1960s/70s recording process itself, that rock/pop male chorus sections are slightly overdriven in the recording process, since I think I can hear some of the same grainy, gravel like underpinnings when I listen to the same CDs on lesser equipment.
Some of the problem left when I moved from a Bryston BP-25 preamp to the BP-26. I really don’t think my Bryston 4BST amps are the problem.  My major listening sweet spot is between 76db and 86db with very occationsl peaks to the upper 80s. 
So, did you lose the harshness, or is it still there?

Thanks,
Tim

Hi Tim 
Yes I still hear harshness on some recordings this morning I had Elton John lp Madman on and it was almost unlistenable after I listened to a Patricia Barber cd Commotion and it was wonderful . I did not have the same problems with my 1.7 or 1.7i as I do with the 3.7i almost feel like going back to 1.7i or trying different speakers more in tune to my rock music.