System too harsh Help

Sansui80 - I am not recommending you not do the mods. I am only suggesting you speak with Stephen about this issue and only proceed if you are satisfied with his explanation. All of my dealings (general questions, work done on my amp and CDP) with Stephen up to this most recent issue were great. Please let us know what you find out from him and what you decide to do.

No issue whatsoever horizontal mounting of ECC99 in Ref 2.2! None! I have it on good authority (well known and highly respected tube guru) that there is NOT any issue mounting this specific tube (nor ANY tube unless restriction stated in its data sheet) horizontally. Been a couple of years for this thread but must set the record straight. This fear has plagued the back of my mind for years. And it was pure hogwash. So fear not.

I hate to break it to you but get rid of the nordost cables ,it will
help tame the tweeter of the f30s, it has an emphasis in the treble that while being detailed , is forward and lacks body, try some all copper interconnects and see if it helps. Ps I am VERY familiar with the sound of f30s, I sold them, multiple friends own them , I owned the m20s and now the f32s.

The most effective way to reduce system harshness is to reduce SIV (Self Induced Vibration). I know what you're thinking, "It's all Edison's fault". True, but those transformers hummmm with AC.

Here's where being a physics major really pays off. I put my copy of University Physics right on top of the my hefty conrad-johnson preamp, I used my copy of Tippler's Modern Physics for the CD player because digital has a sort of quantumness. Some of those vibrapods [sp?] under might help too.

After building an amp stand out of alternating layers of MDF and closed cell foam, I put the Hammond Atlas on top of the amp because I like world music (and a rock from my wife's garden top of that, but she hasn't missed it yet).

No, you don't need expensive "audiophool" composite plates to get 99% of the effectiveness of mechanical damping, just put your education dollars to work.

Seriously, you will be amazed at degree to which you can reduce harshness by reducing mechanical vibrations in your system. Just try it. Hey, it's free.

Ricardo is correct. Vibration control of all components is critical. Chrissain is also correct about Nordost cables. I used to run all Valhallas at one time, and, although they are very detailed, they lack body and fullness of sound. I also generally prefer the sound of copper cables over silver ones in my system.