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My system is bright? I need help. thanks

Hi. it is my first time here in this forum. i would appreciate input and help from all of you. No sacrasm or bad langauge please. I had bad experience with other forums in that aspect. music loving people and audiophiles should be an elite, high caliber and classy community. This is rare to find today. Ok Down to the point.

My system
Musical fidelity kw 500 sacd player. I use the tube output.
Musical fidelity kw 500 integrated amp.
speakers:eggleston andra (not andra 2)
speaker cable: satori acoustic zen
interconnects: Nordost baldur and nordost quatrofil RCA
USe a dedicated 20 amp line with regular power cords(came with the gear) and a panamax 20 amp surge protector and filter.

This is in my family room so there is little room for treatment and moving things around.

problem: bright. the highs are killing my ears, after 1-2 hours of listening my ears start to hurt,sometimes 3 minutes. I have to turn the volume down. I tried postioning, it got a little better. I will try acoustic zen silver ref II may be it will help. The sound is otherwise phenomenal, i could be happy with more bass, but overall it is very good. Depth, tranparency, acuity and soundstaging are great. As for mids, i can see the person infront of me,I can hear the articulation of the tongue in the mouth before the words and tunes comes out. no kidding, but not for long because of fatigue.

I would really appreciate your input.
Scientist73
scientist73
larryken
537 posts
 
your equipment is good....room treatment sounds like the thing you need to do...every room can be treated...like TJ I agree Nordost is overrated, over priced and tends to show detail at the expense of musicality.........
Larry
the_kid's avatar
the_kid
465 posts
 
Great advice given above. Definitely take a look at your room and figure ways to dampen it as mentioned. If your speakers are towed in, tow them out slightly. Also, do yourself a favor and get rid of the Nordost Cables. I think that change alone will be a huge step in the right direction.

Their cables have always sounded hard and analytical to me and do come across as "bright" in numerous setups.

Good Luck!

Chris
sbrtoy
122 posts
 
The new Nordost series are nowhere near as bright as the previous series, so don't go swapping cables. I agree with Newbee, try playing with speaker placement first. Aside from the toe in you can also play with the rake, set the front spikes a little higher and make the speakers shoot a bit over your head, some speakers respond extremely well to this placement as well.

I would also try the system without the Panamax surge suppressor, many of these types of surge protectors can harm the sound more than help it, give it a try and see.

Beyond those two suggestions, it is mostly room treatments. These don't have to be acoustic panels, they could be rugs, tapestries, plants, etc. Anything that either can diffuse or absorb some of the reflections in your room.

Good luck!
stehno
1,453 posts
 
I suggest trying the following:

1. Ensure the cd player is not on the same circuit/lines as the amps and preamp. cd players and dacs generate much digital noise which is bi-directional meaning it goes back into the lines and infiltrates the other components. Only a handful of line conditioners provide bi-directional filtering.

2. I've owned the speaker cables you mention. Some to many cables and ics in this category induce much time smear which will contribute to the fatigue you mention. Try outfitting your system with the Speltz Anti-cables and Anti-ics. These are excellent cables and will cost you perhaps $300 total to outfit your entire system and you can return them within 30 days for a refund.

3. Try listening after removing your Panamax. Not all line conditioners are created equally nor are all worth owning. Some will even induce their own sonic harm. But you should still investigate in proper line conditioning.

4. You might also consider removing (at least temporarily) or heavily convering all reflective surfaces in the listening room. Including mirrors, glass, tables, etc..

These 4 areas are most likely the most probable contributors to ear fatigue you claim to experience.

-IMO
listener57
730 posts
 
At the source, try the micro-priced Herbiesaudiolab.com ($14.24) Grungebuster 2.2 CD mat. This has the effect of reducing brightness, or glare, while enabling excellent player performance. This can give the psychoacoustic effect of diminishing the relative level of the offending high frequencies, a "virtual equalizer" for the equalizer averse.
It is returnable if you find it is not part of the solution.
Marigoaudio.com wiring (IC, PC, speaker cable) delivers a Rolls-Royce sound which is revealing in a more comfortable manner than many other great brands - a "less intense", yet wonderful, presentation. I have only listened to successive generations of used Marigo products, but there is a distinctive reduction in perceived brightness in lesser quality recordings. Don't know about home trial policy.
Re-evaluate your use of the Panamax; there are a number of competitors which have been praised for their ability to tame harshness; see archived Audiogon disussions.
As posted already, the listening room itself is often needing work. Others will address this after you describe your starting point. Also, see archived Audiogon discussions for more ideas in that direction.
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