grainy sounding high end system


Hi, I hope this is the right forum to ask this question. I have a quite decent audio system at home, which consists of Pioneer CLD-98 laserdisc/CD-transport, Bel Canto DAC 1.1, Conrad-Johnson Premier 7b preamplifier, Mark Levinson 333 amplifier and Dunlavy SC-IV speakers. Though this is a "high-end" system on paper, it sounds not very high-end to me: the overall sound has a grainy quality, it has compressed dynamics, the low end is quite lousy and the highs are too prominent. Why is this happening to me? I have invested a lot into this hobby and is this my reward? What could be the reason for the abovementioned grainy sound? Maybe I have to get a better CD-transport, like the TEAC P-30 for example.
dazzdax
There are a couple of possibilities. Something may be broken. Your preamp may not be able to drive your amp. Your amp may not match up well with your speakers. Make sure all of your connections are correct.
All the pieces of the puzzle are of high pedigree so one would think the resulting sound would be fantastic, but it isn't for some reason. Room acoustics, cables, your state of mind and many other factors(some of which we can never conquer completely...our power source) all play a role of our perception of sound quality. I'm sorry your system is not providing you the pleasure you seek. I'll venture to guess that your system is deprived of the necessary power(current)to sound the way it should. The cause could be where you live, whom you share power with, the power provider, the condition/age of the service line entering your home, the circuit providing power to your outlets, your outlets, your power cord....I personally would look into this before I would depart on an expensive, possible futile equipment swapping adventure. Do experiment with different cabling within your system on an in-home trial basis. Please add more information so more knowledgable advice from others could be suggested. Does it always sound this way? Are there times when things sound better? Hope it works out for the better. Bill
Whenever I hear of a tube preamp driving a solid-state power amp AND the user voices concern, I ask if the impedances of the two are suitable. What's in OP impedance of the CJ and the input impedance of the ML? Just a thought.