Digital Music sounds too bright?

If I understand ivan's points correctly, they perhaps explain why upgrading the power cord and the power supply which replaced the flimsy wall wart, had the most noticeable affect on the SQ coming out of my modest streamer and DAC, respectively.

There are a great many reasons why digital needs a lot of help. The reasons are not limited to RFI/EMI, "quantum noise," or Gaussian noise. Other reasons include but are not limited to seismic and internally produced vibration such as transformer buzzing, magnetic field interference, from transformers especially but also any wire that carries current, interconnects and/or speaker cables in reverse direction, system/CD out of polarity, CDs aggressively compressed, background scattered CD laser light interfering with the primary signal, out of round condition of many CDs makes them wobble, and CD transport vibration.

Buy a very good DAC.

@kalali, not really directly. That audible improvement you hear may be due to more of a difference in the geometry-vs-length-vs-gauge-vs-power load of the new power cord and also, presumably, the better (you could also say "lower noise") quality parts/better, or ’beefier’ power supply circuit design. But, the kind of noise I’m referring to above would be present in your setup either way.

That source of noise is ’baked in’ to every system (even battery powered or "lab grade" power supplied) and it’s a different matter to "shield" wiring than it is (using the AMD method as I have) to reduce, block or eliminate electrical noise both before and after it has had a chance to impact the AV system - that is to say just that (given enough application of treatment) it’s a profound difference in the resulting sonic effects between the two...and how it translates into musical terms. I think that may be the hardest thing for audiophiles to wrap their minds around. Without the actual listening experience to enlighten you, then the natural assumption is that it cannot be that big of an issue, since everyone else’s experience is the same. I’m now one of those people that say that reducing electrical noise wholesale, if you can come across a good method to do that, leads directly to massive improvements across the board in the listening experience. This about the only true "night-and-day" difference in this hobby I’ve yet run across...which is why I sound like a broken record whenever I bring it up, which is relentlessly.

@geoffkait , yes I agree, a great many reasons. Did not mean to say that AMD is a panacea or that it obviates the need for other tweaking at all.

Although you do mention "...magnetic field interference, from transformers especially but also any wire that carries current, interconnects and/or speaker cables in reverse direction...".

Actually I’m using AMD devices that are designed to specifically address these issues. One of them is designed to sit on top of a stack of gear (near the topmost transformer, although the exact spot is tuned by ear for the best sounding bass response) and it treats all the transformers in the stack - reducing their magnetic field and therefore the multiple field interactions - in my system, an extraordinary amount of improvement in the ebb and flow of the harmonic signature...a marvelously musical effect.

Right off I myself have always noticed is that placing anything your speakers will most certainly affect the audio reproduction.  When I tried placing my tv on a steroeo cabinet right between my speakers the imaging between the speakers would be pretty much distroyed plus, of ourse the audio reproduction itself is greatly hampered.  That is why I alway cringe whn I see either an individual, in an advertisement in a magazine, or even worse being demonstrating at an audio where all the audio electronics sit right between the speakers.  That is why I always have my tv well behind the speakers them self.  Possibly covering the tv with a blanket acts somehow like an audio tweak product  to lessen the brightness effect caused by the tv.  As an experiment, have someone stand directly between your speakers an notice how it will effect the sound reproduction.  The bigger the person, or the larger the objects between the speakers, the greater the effect.  I know.  I wish I could bring my tv, which sits on a light wood table right up near me.  A 50 inch tv looks much better up close verses 12-14 feet away, but unless I am using my headphones, it just does not work.