Can't argue with the Vandersteen or HT recommendation. Came very close to buying Vandies and currently own HT ICs. Several recent changes have helped in taming an annoying sibilant trait in my system, so maybe this will help or spur some useful discussion. -BDR cones under the transport for vibration isolation. Another set is on order for further experimentation (preamp, DAC, amp?) BTW, this had a side benefit of improving bass definition. -Proper tension on the interconnects' locking RCAs. Too loose and "S" is more "Sh"; too tight and the dynamics suffer. It's a bit of a tight rope. -Cleaned all the connections which took out a bit of grunge, figuratively and literally. Half the cables were bought used, so should have done this before. Especially with the silver, non-locking RCA connectors on the digital cable. Live and learn. -Found a connector on the DAC was loose. Snugged it up which helped. -The room has a noticeable slap echo. Sitting extremely close (beyond nearfield) shows that much of the remaining sibilance is interaction with the room. Will add drapes this weekend and sound panels/flags next month. Hopefully these will finish taming the problem and bring the sound to the desired quality. The nagging question, though, is whether it's ever really *exactly* right? Probably not for long if at all...
smoothing those sibilants...
I appreciate the feedback on the interconnect post I made a few days ago, and here is my next question: If I am attempting to smooth out the sound of a "low-end-of-the-high-end" system, reducing grain while retaining detail (and looking for a warmer more "classic tube sound"), where is my energy/$$$ best spent? Would it be the digital source itself, the interconnects, the input tubes, the speaker cables, or the speakers? Or something else? (System info can be seen under the post entitled "need interconnect advice", and there are some new interconnects on the way.)