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Why does my system now have shrill top end.

The equipment in my system (listed below) has not changed but I now find on both CD and Vinyl a high end shrillness to the sound (treble is very harsh) that has become very annoying, especially at high volume levels. I have no idea why this happened all of a sudden.

Endevour E-3
Pass 30.8
Pass XP 20
Esoteric K01x
Linn LP12 (Ortofon Black cartridge)
Linn Linto Phono Preamp
PS Audio P5 (Amp plugged in directly to wall)
JL Audio F112 v2 sub
OCOS Speaker cable (15 feet)
Pass XLR interconnect (Preamp to Amp)
Harmonic Technology Cable Magic Link (not current version). RCA termination

Any ideas?
proacman
mre28m5's avatar
mre28m5
36 posts
 
About a year ago I was experiencing system symptoms virtually identical to those the OP has described. At some point after much thought, frustration and experimentation, I replaced my speaker cables and the harshness disappeared. 

30 feet of Monster Cable or 12 gauge TW cable from the hardware store will be an easy and inexpensive experiment. Hope this helps.
proacman OP
33 posts
 

To answer Almarg's questions, the Ortofon cartridge is the Quintet Black and it is mc. The OCOS wires have a red and black termination.

Sill haven't been able to switch the amps but hope to do so this weekend.

newbee
4,751 posts
 
I'm sure someone has already discussed this possibility, but on two different occasions when your problem arose in my system it was as big a mystery to me as it is to you. I was able to eliminate the problem by addressing the dressing issue and insuring that IC's and PC's were not running parallel nor were they passing close to transformers. Since I did a tear down and reassembly I'm not sure where the villainous wire(s) were but the problem did arise after I had been fiddling in the back of the equipment reconnecting/relocating equipment. FWIW.  
proacman OP
33 posts
 
Latest update. Changing the amp made no difference. So all I have left is the speaker wire, the power, the room or my ears. Since the speaker wire shouldn't change nor should the room I am wondering if it is my ears. Next step is to visit a local audio store (if I can find one). Then talking to my electrician about a separate power line,. Will keep you posted.
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