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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
tvad
9,467 posts
 
I believe you have room to move the right speaker 6"-12" closer to the wall unit, and the same on the left. If you haven't already tried them farther apart, give it a shot and see what you think. I'd start both 12" closer to the walls (so they'll be 7.5'-8" apart), listen, move them a couple of inches closer, listen...repeat until you hear what you like...moving them back to being farther apart if necessary.

As another experiment, you can simply move your chair a foot closer to the speakers in their present position. You'll get an idea of how they'll sound moved a little farther apart in relation to your distance in the listening chair.

But, for the best results, you're better off actually moving the speakers because you'll also hear how they react to placement closer to the walls. One caveat, to mitigate standing waves don't move the left speaker so the distance from the side wall is the same as the distance from the rear wall.

Also, with the speakers farther apart, you may want to toe them in slightly.
scientist73 OP
36 posts
 
I am a little confused.

Some say MF is the problem, at least on eof the 2. Others say it is the cable. Very few said it is teh speaker.
At least for now i am attached to the MF and i can't buy any music equipment above $800 for a whole year. so all what i can do now is swap cables.
Even for this i have a lot of recommendations. some brands i never even heard of.
i am already expecting the AZ silver refernce II i ll try it nayway. it it doesnot work for what is next?

I have to write down all the suggestons above and pick one, i guess.

The only possiblity i am not prepared for now is that THE ANDRA AND THE MF IS NOT A HAPPY MARRIAGE . BOTH ARE GOOD BUT BELONG WITH OTHER EQUIPMENT.

I WILL BRING MY SONAS FABER DOWN AND TRY THEM WITH MF TO SEE IF THE ARE AS BRIGHT.

I WILL TRY MY DENON DVD-5910 TO WITH THE AMP TO SEE IF THERE IS ANY CHANGE MAY BE THE CD PLAYER IS THE PROBLEM.

AND THEN THE INTERCONNECTS.
I THOUGT AFTER PAYMING THAT MUCH I LL HAVE PEACE OF MIND AND ENJOY LISTENING, AND THST'S IT, BUT IT HAS JUST STARTED.
wellfed's avatar
wellfed
690 posts
 
For a little over $100 you can purchase 2 sets of Herbie's Tenderfoot footers for your components and Big Fat Black Dots for your speakers. While unlikely to be the complete panacea for your ills, they will in all likelyhood be a BIG step in the right direction. Herbie's offers a 90 day trial period.

Herbie's Audio Lab Footers
tvad
9,467 posts
 
Adjusting your speaker placement, and adding some room tuning tweaks will do more to tame system brightness than wire, IMO.

The root cause is the synergy between your speakers and electronics. The problem won't be truly fixed until one or the other is addressed. Wire will provide a quick bandaide by masking problems elsewhere but it won't solve the problem.

That's why I suggest tweaking your speaker placement (which you have already discovered works), and adding some room treatments that will be useful no matter what gear or speakers you own, and will cost less than good wire.
boa2's avatar
boa2
1,550 posts
 
I too think a different amplifier will be your ultimate solution. However, you're not changing amps now, and in the meantime, your system sounds too bright. In my experience, the line between musicality and piercing headache is often crossed by simply changing ICs and/or PCs. Absolutely try different cables, especially some warmer ICs. If you are pleased with the result, and you can enjoy the music, your problem is solved.
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