2. misc-audio
  3. 988502002

Newbie with "bright" system

I recently bought a new power amp, and for the first time, my system now hints at recreating a music "venue" rather than playing songs. For this long-time music fanatic, this is incredibly exciting (I now realize I'm hopelessly hooked). Pushing onward, my current system seems "bright" and "harsh," causing listening fatigue at moderate to high listening levels. It also lacks believable bass detail and extension. Looking for low to moderately priced ($300-1500) incremental, high-value upgrades - I suspect cabling and receiver as pre-amp - what to upgrade first?
Arcam Alpha 8SE - CD player
Nakamichi AV-10 as pre/pro
Bryston 4BST
B&W CDM 7SE
Bettercables IC's and biwire speaker cables
"Industrial" metal rack
Any insight/advice welcome. Thanks in advance for input. Mark
mraybeck
macm
116 posts
 
Quick follow-up...if your amp is brand new (you didn't buy it used), it probably needs some breaking in. New components often sound harsh and edgy until they get at least a hundred hours under their belt. I wouldn't do anything drastic until you're sure everything is sounding its best.
chstob
140 posts
 
That CD player has a forward sound to it too. I agree the pre oughtta go, but the CD player's sound might need considering here as well. Don't get me wrong, I had an Alpha 8, and I loved it a bunch, not bright per se, but a forward british sound. The wrong interconnects and I could see you being disgruntled from harshness, fatigued even. Do the pre in first (this should likely solve all your problem), then you might try some different I/C's, if still not what you want.
mraybeck OP
23 posts
 
MacM, thanks for the tip. I have, in fact, been looking into some used HT Truthlinks based on info found here and reviews. Would it be better to buy a pre-amp first before working with cabling? Thanks, Mark.
mraybeck OP
23 posts
 
Oh yeah, my amp. I bought the 4BST used here with an estimated 60hrs on it. I've since added about 40-50 hrs. Chstob, thanks for your input (noted after my last post). Do you have any recommendations re: a tube pre? How much of a role does isolation/dampening play in performance? One dealer thought my first move should be to get a proper rack (Of course his favorite was Sistrum, for which he is a dealer).
Ag insider logo xs@2x
docwarnock
63 posts
 
Musical Fidelity makes a tweak called the X10D that uses tubes to tame brassy sounding CD players. They are really inexpensive ($80-$115 is typical) and you could easily resell it if it didn't work for you. I've noticed that they sell very quickly. Hope this helps.
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