Here is a little more info:
I did not say that the Polk were very good, just that they were not harsh. The problem is not in the low freq but in the highs, vocals with words starting in "t" or "s", cymbals and the like but bells are very good and clear. The 3 rooms are very different, one 14 x 24 with carpet, one very small with carpet and the last 18 x 24 with 10 feet ceiling and hard wood floors so I don't believe they all could be causing harsh highs. I hear the harshness with all sources so I doubt its the CDs. The JM Labs speakers, with their acclaimed inverted dome tweeter, are harsher than the Paradigm were. I tried them with both the Arcam and Classe preamp and it made no difference. I live in a small time area where there aren't any high end stores and I don't know of anyone else that has equipment I could try.
I did not say that the Polk were very good, just that they were not harsh. The problem is not in the low freq but in the highs, vocals with words starting in "t" or "s", cymbals and the like but bells are very good and clear. The 3 rooms are very different, one 14 x 24 with carpet, one very small with carpet and the last 18 x 24 with 10 feet ceiling and hard wood floors so I don't believe they all could be causing harsh highs. I hear the harshness with all sources so I doubt its the CDs. The JM Labs speakers, with their acclaimed inverted dome tweeter, are harsher than the Paradigm were. I tried them with both the Arcam and Classe preamp and it made no difference. I live in a small time area where there aren't any high end stores and I don't know of anyone else that has equipment I could try.