The Chord Co.

I hope you understand what I was trying to say about the interconnect or the preamp as being better. It's a tough call on my part. For sure, the Naim kit as well as my Linn gear is not dark sounding. I recently have been using a Ridge Street Audio Midnight Silver interconnect and boy, oh boy is it nice. Lots of detail, not harsh (with solid state) at all. They're kind of spendy but well worth it. I'd be glad to send you a recipe for a DIY IC that I really like. I'm going to be building some of the John Risch design silvers for myself. You may wish to go to his site and see all the cool DIY stuff he has recipes for. The web address is: http://www.geocities.com/jonrisch/index.htm

Yes, I got yer drift, Lugnut! I've been in touch with the fellow at RidgeStreet, and that is another route I'm looking into. As for the DIY, that's another, and cheaper, option. I have a DIY powercord in my system, which I like a lot, but have never tackled an IC. Sure, send me the recipe and I'll see what I can do with it.

I currently use a Chord Company Odyssey biwire speaker cable. In general Chord cables are great value because they have no specific character of their own. They're just good/very good at everything they're thrown at, surely when you take their price into consideration.
I did test the Nordost Blue Heaven speakercables last weekend however (here in Belgium nearly 3x the Odyssey price), and it surely injected lots of air,detail and definition in every department without making the music sound harsh. Maybe worthwile to investigate to get rid of that darkness you were talking about (but without putting in brightness).

Kind regards!

Musketier.... thanks for the suggestions and comments. Much appreciated. I'm not sure if you're recommending I try the Odyssey or the Blue Heaven to deal with the slight darkness.

I use the chord co's signature interconnect in my system and it is by far the best i have ever heard. i got rif of my valhalla's when i heard these. i cant even begin to tell you how much i love these cables. now i just cant wait fr the signature speaker cables to come out. Again, if you get the chance, LISTEN TO THEM, they are hands down the best in my book.