Broke and still not happy


I like new country and good old rock & roll. My system sounds sterile, flat sounding,not musical and harsh in the highs.I have been playing bass guitar in the same band for 35 years for a living,I think I know what music is suppose to sound like. This is my gear.
Sonic Frontiers Line 1se,Classe Cam 200s,North Star Design Dac&Transport,Sonus Faber Cremona Auditors,Rel sub.Cables are balanced Nirvana SL pre to amps,Nirvana SL to speakers and Nirvana SX from source. Vibrapods under everything but amps. Echo Busters.HELP
gellis1
I am guessing that some tweaks might be in order. Some I would recommend you investigate are Marigo VTS tuning bands on your dynamic driver basket arms, Marigo room treatment dots, and especially some isolation platforms such as the Machina Dynamica Promethean. Another thought is the possibility that your room treatment products might be hindering your enjoyment rather than helping. I am not saying this is definitely the case, but I would re-assess that element in any case.
I second the idea of listing to headphones. You can really get an idea of how well your speakers are setup and how well the acoustics are by listing to headphones. Get the Stereophile test cd and pay attention to the MATT (music articulation test tone) done by Acoustic Sciences Corporation I believe and the soundstage tests. They worked well for me. It can be discouraging however.
Music sounds dry and not open,also I am hearing a ringing sound out of the tweaters.When you go to a high end dealer they sit you down in the sweet spot and take great care to adjust the speakers till it sounds perfect to your ears.I want to be able to walk around the room and have it still sound good.I use to have nordost cables, they were open and lively but way to much highs.I have a friend with a Marantz M7 yhh! tone controls.It help me tailor the sound to my liking but I lost something.
I think if you experiment with interconnects and power cables you might be able to get the sound you want. The best way to do this is contact the Cable Co. and rent a bunch of cables. Cardas cables have a warm signature that might work for you. Try Cardas Neutral Reference from your preamp to poweramp. If that one isn't warm enough, try Cardas Golden Reference. Audience AU24 is also a basically neutral cable that can help with aggressive highs.

Cardas and Shunyata power cables also can warm up a system. You may lose a little in the way of high frequency dynamics but they can definitely warm up the midrange. Try the Cardas Golden Reference PCs on your power amps and a Shunyata Python Alpha on your preamp. Your DAC may benefit from a shielded PC, also.