How many hrs. of use does the spks. have them? Also, everytime you move cables around it takes awhile to settle down and the sound will get less edgy and bass should improve. What cables are you using? My gut feeling is that the Denon is no where near refined of an amp for the spks. Your spks. are revealing the shortcomings of your other pieces of equipment. I own some Paradigm floorstanders, the "Phantom" IV's. Driven by vintage Sansui int. amp and the system sounds superb. Don't give up the Paradigm's. Try a different amp.
Paradigm Studio 60 V5 Fingernails on Chalkboard
The highs have an edge that hurts my ears, especially female voices (e.g. old joni mitchell, Emmy Lou Harris, etc. I have a Denon AVR 1709 80 W/Ch home theater amp. Could the amp be the problem? It's not room placement - I've moved them all over the room, and it's not interference - it happens even when I only have one speaker plugged in. If it is the amp, what should I replace it with? I spent all my $ on the speakers, assuming the amp I have would work out. I have the speakers for sale on Audoigon but would like to keep them if I can find an affordable solution. Thanks!