Lousyreeds, I noticed you said you live in Oklahoma. So do I, in the Oklahoma City Area. If you live around here, you are welcome to drop by and see how things sound in a different system. My system is biased towards the LP though. I have a few classical on vinyl and maybe you can compare to a CD. Good luck on solving the edgy strings.
Question for classical lovers
First of all, I grew up listening to classical and jazz, vinyl for the most part, I remember it being pleasant with no fatigue. Later, with low end gear, it was impossible to listen to classical CDs because of the edgy harsh strings. Now with respectible entry level or mid-fi gear that I have tried or auditioned, some of the recordings sound great but majority still suck. I have added tube preamps like AI modulus and Van Alstine in the chain but the problem still exists. So are the majority of CDs just bad digital recordings or transfers or is most gear out there just incapable of handling complex musical passages? Also, quite a few SACDs out there make me and my dog cringe!(must be the 100Khz response or whatever) Do I sell one of my cars and buy some exotic gear or ditch it all and get a TT?