Help. My system is shouting at me


Recently purchased a new Cambridge 740c cd player to add to
my Exposure 2010s integrated amp and Castle Richmond 3i's. After about 3 weeks of break in it is sounding good but vocals have an annoying quality. I am relatively ignorant when it comes to technical terms to describe sound qualities.The best way i can describe the problem is the highs sound like shouting instead of singing.The problem occurs even at moderate volume.Needless to say it's unpleasant to listen to. Could speaker wire be causing the problem. I am using Monster THX off the spool which is a combination of copper and silver. I have some good Ecosse wiring coming soon, but i am not sure if that's the problem.
The problem seems to have manifested recently with the break in of the cd player, which is ironic.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
blazen69
I really am not a technical guy, but it sounds like standard digital fatigue. I have noticed this quality even on players costing upward of $10,000, but not always if everything locks in just right. This is where you might need professional opinions who can suggest new elements you could try at home (read a good dealer and home demo). Hard to find!
It sounds to me like a source problem, not cables.
Shouting means very aggressive. I'm not sure the Cambridge 740c has adjustable filter like their big brother 840C.
I thought the 840C sounds smooth and musical. The problem may reside in the Exposure solid state amp.
Blazen69's problem of brief shouty-ness is probably caused by the OPAMPs in the CD player's SS output stage loosing their linearity momentarily when placed under the high demand for current during Loud passages

When the music becomes demanding, the OPAMPs will loose their linearity for a brief moment, distorting and that distortion then causes the Negative Feedback loop, to oscillate and ring

The ringing which is very brief, and only on the peaks of demanding passages is perceived as "Shouty-ness" and seems to be pretty common with CD players that use SS output stages with OPAMPS

If you really like the sound of your player you can add an external buffer either SS or Tube

The Buffer's higher current capabilities will take the responsibility of driving the ICs and the OPAMPS see an easy to drive load in the Buffer and don't go into distortion causing the ringing and shouty-ness

You could also sell the player and buy a player with an all tube analog output stage and no OPAMPS or a player that uses OPAMPS, but has a Tube Buffered output

Another neat player is the Consonance CD120 Linear which uses a discrete J-FET SS output stage instead of Chips and OPAMPS or Tubes and is a Nonover Sampling Filterless style Dac
Dave,

Many cost effective SS CD players (under $1000 or so) using OPAMP output without this annoyance effect that Blazen69 reported. It sounds like a poor design from Cambridge based on your assessment? If not, there is definitely a mismatch between Exposure and Cambridge.
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