Magnepan 3.7i vocals sound harsh

I currently owned a pair of 3.7i driven by the CAD 120S MKII, eight high power Golden Lion Genalex tubes, four NOS 6SN7 tubes fed in from a CAD preamp tube with four NOS Telefunken tubes for LP, and two NOS 6SN7 and two high power 6SN7 for CD. They sound rich, warm, lush and full at mid range where all male or female vocals are near life like voices.

Jonto,
After your amp and pre-amp purchase has the harshness gone away? I ask because I’m also experiencing the same problems with Maggie 1.7 series speakers.  I’m starting to look towards my signal generation (PS Audio Perfectwave transport into a Perfectwave DAC) as the major source/revealer of the problem. Like you, I hear a slight, background harshness - a gravel like quality - underneath vocals; mostly rock/pop male vocals, and most noticeably during the chorus parts when three or four male vocalists sing together at full volume - think any Moody Blues or CS&N album. Solo vocal parts and most female vocals are sweet and clear. Instruments however, are always crystal clear and a joy to listen to.
This makes me wonder if it’s the 1960s/70s recording process itself, that rock/pop male chorus sections are slightly overdriven in the recording process, since I think I can hear some of the same grainy, gravel like underpinnings when I listen to the same CDs on lesser equipment.
Some of the problem left when I moved from a Bryston BP-25 preamp to the BP-26. I really don’t think my Bryston 4BST amps are the problem.  My major listening sweet spot is between 76db and 86db with very occationsl peaks to the upper 80s. 
So, did you lose the harshness, or is it still there?

Thanks,
Tim

Hi Tim 
Yes I still hear harshness on some recordings this morning I had Elton John lp Madman on and it was almost unlistenable after I listened to a Patricia Barber cd Commotion and it was wonderful . I did not have the same problems with my 1.7 or 1.7i as I do with the 3.7i almost feel like going back to 1.7i or trying different speakers more in tune to my rock music.

John, I am sorry to hear that. I  thought the Pass equipment had taken care of it.