How to tame the midrange???

if you are using radio shack interconnects, what are you usung for speaker cable ? is this a trick question thread ????

the sunfire is a decent preamp/processor, and the denon and classe are fine(the dac in the subfire is prety decent too)....

get some decenet interconnects, speaker cable, and poweer cords if your serious...

what interconnects are you usesing,i just went through this,i took my whole system apart and started add the interconnects one by one till i found the one that was doing it ,changed it out and its great again so try it it dont cost nothing,,

Adding a dedicated tube stereo pre-amp will help a lot. There are excellent tube pre-amps with processor put-through, so you can still run your theater but for 2 channel stereo you will hav e a dedicated pre. Secondly, B&W speakers require bi-wire run of speaker cables. I don't know what speaker cable are you using, but a single run speaker cable would cause some modramge harshness with B&Ws. I would suggest looking into shotgun bi-wire speaker cables such as Acoustic Zen Satori. Also, B&Ws are very sensitive to source components. Garbage in - garbage out. Getting a good dac would help a lot as well, because your DVD player is not a proper source to these speakers. God luck.

Thank you for all of the advice. I have been away and unable to respond.
GMood1....thanks for your comments. You confirmed my suspicions that a DAC, tubed preamp, and seperate two channel is the way to go. Others had the same advice. I just needed to hear it from others with more experience before I start shopping.
Dave......I am happy to know the Sunfire sounded good in your system. It is the one piece of gear I was most suspicious of. I think you and Larry hit it right on the head with the "cumulative" theory.
rrsclyde.....Thanks for the heads up on Music Choice. I will be dissappointed if I cannot run that through a DAC. Gotta check on that one.
Owl....I have dedicated lines and a new electrical service right down to a new transformer at the pole. I will try conditioning if all else fails.
Mikesinger......nope, not a trick question thread. The Radio Shack cables were left over from some car audio projects. I do not want to buy I/C cables until all of the final components are in place. The speaker cables are MIT-2. They came as a package with some speakers I bought. I know they are not the best. I will replace them with something more suitable when I do the cable thing. I am not so sure I could hear the difference cables would make when the existing components seem to be so poorly matched. I am using balanced cables to the amps. These were made by Blue Jean Cables. I assume they are good enough. Please correct me if I am wrong.
So, it seems that this is a good time to take the gear to the next level and hope to solve the original problem along the way. Here's the plan:
1) Buy a good DAC. I do not see the sense in doing mods on the Denon DVD player to try to make it sound like something it's not (a good CD player). I can add a DAC now and a better transport later (if needed). I like the flexibility aspect.
2) Buy a good two channel tube preamp and seperate the two channel from HT. This is a change that everyone seems to agree on. I think the tubes would tone this system down a bit and get closer to the warm sound that I probably prefer anyway.
3) Better I/C and speaker cables. A no brainer really, but I am saving this for last. Until I have all of the final pieces in place I will not know what kind or length cables I will need. I have probably logged 1000 miles in the past month just moving stuff around.
4) I am really saving room treatments for dead last. The use for this room is evolving over time. It was supposed to be dedicated HT, but I am over that. I will be adding furnishings that will soften the room a bit. Once that is all done I will see where treatments are needed.
I know this all sounds "matter of fact" but I am really just thinking out loud. It seems that if the "cumulative effect" is what is causing the harshness, then the answer lies in wholesale changes as Larry suggests. I am trying to make these changes while following a systematic upgrade path and then follow through on the basics. Anyone who has read this far must certainly have an opinion. I would appreciate your feedback before I start shopping. Thanks again.

Looks like you've nailed it down baffled.You sure have a sea of choices out there and you don't seemed baffled too me. If you have a way to listen to different tube preamps, this could give you an idea. There's still no better way than hearing them in your own system however.

If you still want transparency without making things overly warm or cloudy. I would look at some single ended, OTL, pure Class A and no negative feedback preamp designs.It's so much easier to hear what each tube is contributing to the sound.When there's no negative feedback used.

Technology has progressed to a point now.Where you can find a terrific Dac without breaking the bank. I suggest trying some of the Dacs out there with a return policy. I would start below $1000 retail and maybe move up from there if needed. You may find your satisfied without spending more.

Cables..well that's something you have to decide what's best for you. I don't believe in spending tons of money on cables myself.As long as it doesn't degrade the signal with poor connections , corrosion or broken center conductors... I'm a happy camper. I for one think your headed in the right direction changing the components first. Even with Radio shack interconnects your going to hear a major difference in the component swaps. I'm willing to bet I could secretly swap out the cables in some of the fellow agoner's systems with Rat Shack cables and they wouldn't be the wiser.LOL Try not to get caught up in this cable stuff and listen for the differences yourself.

Now let the fun begin! :-)