Help. System sounds thin and bright or harsh

I might have missed it, are you using the Oppo’s Modwright DAC or an external one? The factory stock DAC in my Oppo 105 is relatively smooth, but a little bass lite and lacks depth, compared to the Ayre Codex. The Ayre has their proprietary digital filter that is as ring free as possible. No pre ring and only 1 cycle of post ring. The analog out put stage has great dynamics and bass power. First song scared the he.. out of me. The Oppo never did that.

The variac didn’t solve all the problem until it was also hooked to the Oppo.

Thanks,

aldnorab

E.S I haven't delved into actually measuring power. Don't have the gear or real knowhow for that matter.

Had a windstorm last night but the system didn't seem to exhibit any real symptoms. Just the usual lean/bright sound with lesser quality recordings, (voices way too hot)

Aldnorab I am by passing the oppo/modwright dac for a musetec dac that sounds pretty good with the right recordings. Connected via a DHLabs rca coax.  Even using the analog, tubed outputs of the modwrighted oppo in the past, I always felt the sound was a little brittle or hard.  The musetec dac brings a whole different sound..more detail, and layers of instruments and voices with more separation.. Hard/brittle sound has not been eliminated.  (weakest link the oppo?)

Oppo 105 as transport

Musetec 005 dac ( xlr balanced outs)

Benchmark LA4 Pre (xlr balanced outs)

Pass Labs X250.5 amp

Harbeth 30.1's

Just wanna get to a decent base point before deciding on possibly changing speakers. I love what the harbeths do but they lack bass/involvement and I no longer need to be bass shy since I don't live in an apartment at this time.

Cymivka, thanks for the extra info.

Not familiar with the sound of your DAC. I wouldn't consider the Oppo built in as warm. Sabre chips can be a little relentless. Good designers can overcome this  by not using all of Sabre's baked in digital filters and settings. My Ayre uses a Sabre chip and sounds nothing like the Oppo. Oppo seems to make a good transport. 

It is easy to check the AC power. A VOM can be purchased for around $20. They are even available at places like wally world. Just set dial to AC and insert a probe into each flat hole of the wall receptacle. Warning - don't touch the metal prongs. If you aren't comfortable doing this get someone else to help. 

Good luck,

aldnorab 

thanks for the AC check advice.  I can easily go the VOM route,  Listened last night after a wine or two and the system actually sounded "choked" to me at higher volume

This video will give you ideas on how to verify your system set up and determine if there are changes to make improvements, such as reducing the harshness you are experiencing.

Using Key Measurements to Verify Basic System Setup

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