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Musical Fidelity A324 DAC too bright?

I'm using the DAC with a California Audio Ikon Cd player as a transport. I thought it was a noticeable improvement over the Cal cd player when I first bought it, but after almost 2 years, I find it too bright,almost harsh especially in comparison to records. Is that likely a problem with this particular model, cd technology itself or just the fact that I've become spoiled by recent upgrades in my record playing system. I'm using relatively inexpensive MIT cables for the digital connections. Can the brightness be ameliorated by changing cables or should I just sell the unit and get something different?
mlkiz
sean
6,231 posts
 
It is probably not so much that it is bright, but that it is lean i.e. lacking in body and warmth. This is pretty typical of the the Musical Fidelity house sound. If you have a system that is already somewhat lean and / or on the bright side, it could be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Sean
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transnova
350 posts
 
When I was using the A324 I found it to be very sensitive to transports and cables.It sounded very nice with a Rega Planet(original) and a Musical Fidelity A3 Cd used as transports.It sounded average with a Denon changer and absolutely awful with a cheap chinese DVD player as a transport.Most Digital cables I tried sounded good,however I did not like a monster 100 and loved an old Audio Alchemy(with the network(tin can).In my system,the MF DAC was rarely bright,and sometimes too bland.

Larry
lluscombe
7 posts
 
Mate the A3.24 with the MF X-10v3 tube buffer. It will not only tame the somewhat "bright" sound, but will improve just about every aspect of the DAC, such as adding body to the tone, much better imaging, etc. You would be surprised at the improvement.
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