Need Help With a Bright System

Wow! So many recommendation, I'm not sure which ones to try first. I know that Best Buy sells some of the Monster power conditioners, so I may be able to try one from there. If it does make a difference and I decide not too overpay, I'll take it back and try for a used one online.

I would like to try swapping out gear with my dad's. However, his source is much better than mine (Marantz SA11). Either way, I'd like to try swapping amps and speakers between the two rooms to hear which is the culprit. I'm pretty confident that matching these speakers with a tube amp will remove most if not all of the harshness.

Thanks everyone for the info. The room is actually filled with furnishings because it is my bedroom. At first I suspected that it was the room, but after a while I realized that it was more the fault of the speakers being bright. I bought these speakers used, so I'm sure there's at least 200 hours on them. Currently, the speakers are toed in; I had them toed out before which seemed to make a small difference in the brightness, but I lost a lot in terms of imaging. I also tweaked around with trying the mono blocks in bridged and plain stero mode, but didn't notice much difference....

Piezo: Yes, buying new speakers is pretty much out of the question right now. I spent a long time researching and coming up with the decision to buy these speakers, and to be honest I like how clear they sound; I'd rather match other equipment to suit these speakers. I do in fact have a set of cones underneath the CD player. I've tried using them both ways (pointed end up/down). The interconnects i'm using between the cd player and pre and AR silver series, so I may try a pure copper interconnect. I'm also going to try swaping the ARs with the Kimber Timbres that are going between the pre and the monos. For rock music, I can handle having the speakers toed out/facing forward because the loss in imaging doesn't really matter.

Well I just swapped out the Paradigms for the Triangle again, and I've been listening to mostly accoustic and classical music on them. For this type of music, these speakers sound very good. But yes, rock music sounds very edgy with my system. Previously the Triangles were hooked up to a Prima Luna Prologue Two and a Marantz SA-CD11, Bi wired with Kimber 8TCs and 4TCs and Van Den Hul interconnects. The speakers sounded great on the system, even with rock music. I'm not sure that i'm quite ready to sell these speakers yet. They have a very detailed sound that is rewarding with some types of music.

Good suggestion. I'm really enjoying these Studio 60s. I may try and find a set used instead of doing research and buying another pair without hearing them first. I imagine I can pick up a pair of Studio 60 v3's for about $900 here on AudioGon. I think these speakers would also sound really good with a hybrid amp...

Also, I did a quick search on Sonus Faber here, and the prices are a bit out of my range for the full range speakers they offer.

“Did you have previously everything except the Antals and sound was OK, i.e. better highs reproduction?”

Well, I was originally using an NAD C 340 integrated which I accidentally burned out. The NAD C 272’s that I’m using are my dad’s; I’m borrowing them for the time being after he upgraded to a Prima Luna Prolog 2. The highs seemed less harsh with the C 340, but that was only at low volumes. The C 340 could not be driven to higher levels or it would sound like crap. Now it seems that the highs have more of the “punch” and attack that solid state amps deliver, except this attack is just too much in the high frequencies. Tone controls don’t do a lot of good either; they can quiet the highs a bit, but I lose detail and the highs still have that exaggerated punch. But no, I’ve only owned these speakers for a few months now, so I haven’t tried a lot of different equipment with them.

”Do you have any power treatment for your source?”

No I do not. I was thinking about this last night as I noticed a buzzing sound coming from the speakers. I have 2 lights on a dimmer circuit which I must have turned off when I’m listening because it causes a fairly loud buzzing in the midrange when turned on. Right now I’m using an old power switch with 4 outlets that probably does nothing in terms of power conditioning. Would a mediocre $50 power strip help improve this? I’ve also thought about the UPS’s that are sold for computers since the power comes from a battery, but that may severely limit the amount of power available to the amps.

”Have you tried any vibration tweaks specially on DVD player?”

I’m currently using a set of cones underneath the player which to me seemed to improve the bass a bit, but they definitely don’t do enough for the harsh high frequencies. I will try your suggestion on mass loading and see if that helps (this is a very light DVD player, don’t know if that would matter).

”Is your system set on a rack / furniture type?”

The system is sitting on top of 2 hard wood boards that are on the floor. They seem to isolate vibrations pretty well.

The_kid: Yes, even the guy that sold me these speakers recommended tubes, but for now I’ll be using the solid state gear. I’ll be using these amps until I have enough money saved up to purchase an upgrade for the system.

I think what some of you may be forgetting is that the NAD amplifiers I'm using right now are not mine; I've made no financial obligation towards these amps or CD player, they're just something for me to use while I save up for my own components. Yes, these speakers are bright and are definitely harsh on rock music--with solid-state amps. I'm not ready to sell these speakers before listening to them on a tube amp. No, I did not get to audition these speakers because I bought them used off of Audiogon.

The_kid: I understand what you mean about getting fatigued by listening to these speakers, but did you hear them on solid state gear or tube gear? A HUGE part of having the “right” system is correctly matching the components. I doubt these speakers would have gotten such good reviews if they sounded bright and harsh with every single type of gear out there. I'm still going to try a tube amp with these speakers, which I think will really make them sing. However, if you're a semi-headbanger like myself, the tube amps just can’t deliver that extended bass and attack that are a big part of that kind of music. But I'm certainly willing to accept that trade off to get rid of this brightness, especially because of the milky smooth and airy midrange that you get from tubes.

Well I had a chance to bring the Antals back home and hooked them up to my dad's system (PrimaLuna Prologue 2 + Marantz SA-11S1). I have to say that the transparency and imaging was pretty remarkable, producing a very accurate sound image that had a great amount of depth. The room was set up better, and I could hear more bass than I could in my own room. As for the brightness, it was toned down quite a bit, but I could still notice the brightness even with this tube amp and a much better source. SACDs sounded much less harsh/bright. We made a trade (temporary) and I brought home the Paradigm Studio 60 v3's knowing that they would sound much better with the NAD equipment (I had heard this setup already before). Comparing the Triangles to the Paradigms, I would have to say that I enjoy the sound of the Paradigms more, simply because they are more listenable and seem to be a bit more musical. They are also more of an "all purpose" speaker, being able to handle a broader range of music. Rock music is iffy when it comes to the Triangles; some recordings are ok, others are intolerable. The Triangles seem to do a better job at reproducing room ambiance and detail, but also lack the dynamic range that the Paradigms have. I still can't believe how transparent the Triangles are, but it's the brightness that takes away from me being able to acually enjoy that transparency. I think that if you listen to mostly classical and jazz, the Triangles are an excellent choice; for a listener that still likes to enjoy rock, it's like The_Kid said: better buy stock in Advil.

Although I don't want to go through the trouble of selling the Triangles and getting new speakers, I think that in the end I'll end up doing just that. I'm dreading the day when I have to hook the Triangles back up to the NAD stuff....

What about mods? Someone suggested adding felt around the tweeters? Are there any other fixes for a bright speaker?