Need cable to soften brightness just a little?


Would appreciate some hand holding on solving a small problem. I think a different cable interconnect might be what I need. Right now I am using Blue Jeans interconnects.

Have three new variables in our TV Stereo system.
New Oppo UDP-205
Musical Fidelity A3cr Preamp
Pioneer SX-1050 Stereo Receiver (bypassing it’s preamp)

Still in use is the Arcam SR250 AV Receiver.
Speakers are floor standing Spendor FL-6.

I am an opera lover and classical music devotee and like really good audio. The Arcam SR250 is just perfect for ordinary tv watching, but I soon found out it can’t equal the musicality of a good stereo receiver, so I rigged up a way of using my Audiomat Arpege tube amp for musical program listening.   But  I just found a better use for the Arpege and decided to replace it with the Musical Fidelity Preamp and the Pioneer Receiver.   The Oppo is just a few days old as well, replacing an Oppo BDP-83SE.

There is a big improvement in clarity of spoken dialogue.
Everything sounds brighter and clearer and there is an unmistakable sense of power from the much more powerful Pioneer.
Musically it is harder to evaluate. At first there was a feeling of “wow, major improvement”, but on further listening it feels a little bright. Might be the sort of brightness that causes music fatigue.

How do I take just a little of the edge off the brightness without losing the wonderful clarity I’m getting?

And how to go about figuring out which of the three is causing that little bit of edginess.


128x128echolane
The Oppo has been known to take a very long time to break in.  Some people say 200 hours, but many others have indicated as much as 300-400 hours of continuous play.  Just put a CD in and set it on repeat.  Then turn your preamp down and you can turn off your amps.  10 days straight is what I generally recommend for 200-240 hours.
Once you have it broken in, if you are still looking for interconnects, then yes Cardas has been known to be warm.  Another great option is to look for a lower cost Audioquest cable, but make sure it uses gold-plated RCA connectors (avoid the silver plated!).  Evergreen interconnects can be had for less for $50 on ebay.  I think these would be better than Blue Jeans cable because Audioquest uses larger 21awg solid-core conductors.  The gold-plated RCA will help in reducing the highs.  Or you can move up to Audioquest Golden Gate or Big Sur cables (still under $100).
OP -   Are you using footers under your components?  If not, the vibrations and resonances your equipment is subjected to could very well be causing a brightness (brittleness) to your system.  New interconnects may mask the problem but if vibrations are the problem they will not fix it.  Consider regular Tenderfeet from Herbie's Audio Lab.  I have, over many years, tried many very different footers to combat vibration and none has come close to what the Tenderfeet can do without making your system sound "mushy".http://herbiesaudiolab.net/compfeet.htm
Thanks much all for the helpful advice. The Oppo has been set up to repeat until I put a stop to it. I am also including the Musical Fidelity and the Pioneer in the continuous play. The Pioneer has only been played once or twice in the last 25 years or more and the Musical Fidelity has only seldom been played of late so it makes sense to assume they need some break in too.

Hoping that’s all that’s needed.

OP - Experience by most 'philes suggests that your equipment will definitely benefit from a good burn-in.  "Brightness or Brittleness" is often what you might expect from gear that has been long dormant