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How do I smooth out violins?

I have a decent system (bit of a mixed bag) but know that I can achieve a smoother, more integrated, and more relaxed massed violin sound. I listen to a ton of orchestral music and notice that massed violins in their upper registers (1500-3500 Hz) often jump out from the mix and sound a bit harsh, unlike what one hears live. Right now, I have the following:

Spendor SP1/2E
McCormick DNA-125 (original)
NAD 1600 (pre/tuner)
Marantz CD3000
Audioquest Sidewinder ICs
Audioquest Type 4

Would a tube pre help (maybe a AA M3A)? I'm thinking that the NAD may be the culprit. Any advice from those of you who have quested for "real" violin sound is very much appreciated.
bojack
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
3,018 posts
 
"The CD player is fairly new (well-reviewed recently), and it is actually a CD5004 (not the CD3000,my goof), so I think it will stay at least for a while until I can eliminate other components."

That's good to hear. Anyway, this thread was a wild ride.
rok2id's avatar
rok2id
4,494 posts
 
I have the CD5004 also. Even Stereophile could not find fault with it. I don't think it will be the problem.
Cheers
elizabeth
6,726 posts
 
Two points: Telling the op to throw money at the problem is not much for advice!
The idea of finding a great recoding to 'test' is a wonderful idea. I never thought of that.. Then the op can compare: Does this recoding with a consesus of it sounding great, in fact sound great on my setup?
WOW.

The cheapest possible tweak is the ferrite claps on the CD interconnects. (I used to use them all the time.. Now i have finally gotten past that.
Though all my CDs DO sound great...NOW. Gee (I must have messed up per some folks! Not IMO though.)
mapman's avatar
mapman
15,679 posts
 
Jmcgrogan is right about digital and massed strings. I suspect jitter can
have a noticeable effect with sustained high frequencies as is common
with bowed mass strings, particularly violins. Some of he best massed
strings i have heard from cd came from a dcs puccini to vtl pre to vac tube
amp to magico mini. Another was an all mbl rig with a huge soundstage
where everything had lots of room to breathe.
mapman's avatar
mapman
15,679 posts
 
Jmcgrogan is right about digital and massed strings. I suspect jitter can have a noticeable effect with sustained high frequencies as is common with bowed mass strings, particularly violins. Some of he best massed strings i have heard from cd came from a dcs puccini to vtl pre to vac tube amp to magico mini.
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