Cary 303 CD - Very Detailed - Fixes?

it sounds like you bought the cary w/o 1st auditioning it in your system. that's a shame, cuz (really) you need to start all over, using the cary as your reference point for everything else. frustrating, huh? learn by your mistakes and recognize that it takes years to get to a "perfect" system, which will then be outmoded or outclassed in no less than 30 days thereafter.

Hey Cornfed - You helping or gloating? It's hardly a "mistake" to improve one part or component of one's system, even if you then discover an undesireable characteristic needs further correction. This is bound to occur if an individual is serious about improving his/her system. It would be nice to have every upgrade available for audition, but even then, a significant improvement will likely show a shortcoming in another area. The goal is not that each upgrade will perfectly compliment all of the other components in the system regardless of their quality or faults. How can it be a mistake to learn what one truly values out of an audio system? No, the real mistake would be to never step out of the level that your system is at now by limiting yourself to components that can't show a deficiency in any other part of that system. Keep going Jcidulka, you now have a very good CD front end by which to direct and evaluate future upgrades. Enjoy.

Try some cheap/free temporary fixes if it is realy driving you crazy right now. You could attempt to tune (or detune) the CD player by experimenting with different isolators. If you are using cones, don't. Try resting the player on different materials laying around the house. It could be a tea towel, mouse pads a mailing envelope etc. You get the idea. Isolation teqniques work both ways. You may also grow to like the additional detail in time. "It is new and therefore we must fear it" is my usual first reaction to a drastic change in sound. I am not audiophile and tend to look for quick easy and sometimes temporary solutions to audio problems. So, please take my advice with a grain of salt. If it seems reasonable though, what's it going to cost to try?

I promise you, the Shearwaters sound "blacker" than most speakers, that is, the treble is very organic sounding- not necessarily rolled off, but definately relaxed. I auditioned a pair a while back. If it were me, I would play around with cheap tweeks until I got my new speakers broken in (that will be quite a while with the Meadowlarks) then, try different speaker cables if it still sounds bright. If you cant find speaker cables that float your boat, DONT BUY ANY. until you throw the interconnects into the mix. It sounds to me like a detailed CD player into a tubed intergated into the Meadowlarks is a match made in heaven. My suggestion (or prophecy) is that you end up with some neutral interconnects and speaker cables. Audioquest and Cardas are considered pretty neutral. You will be able to find an Interconnect/speakercable scheme that mates well with the Meadowlarks and your Cary and your Mesa. It's all about the journey, good luck