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Tips for warming up Rotel + B&W system?

I recently purchased Rotel Integrated amp and B&W 703's to pair with my broken-in Rotel 1072 DC player. I've only had the system for 2 weeks, but I can't notice any improvent, The broken-in system sounded very good in the store but at home it sounds cold, dry, sterile, with harsh highs. I find the more I listen, the less I want to listen, which only slows doen the breaking-in process. Are there any audiogoners who've had experience with taming overly trebly B&W's?
stuartk
Ag insider logo xs@2x
muzikat
920 posts
 
The room, the room boss.
nickt
172 posts
 
First, you need to study your room for it could be the cause. Then you also want to ask your dealer what cables he was using for that particular system at his store. I think you will find your answer from one of those two questions. Good luck.
Nick
davt
500 posts
 
I would give the Rotel amp and CDP a chance to break in as well. I had a Rotel 1052 reciever and 1072 CDP and they really benefit from breakin as well. Also look at moving the speakers around, check relationship to walls etc as room acoustics will also affect the speakers.
darkmoebius
900 posts
 
I know exactly what you are talking about and some. Five years ago, I had a Rotel 980BX amp and RC-995 preamp driving B&W 602 S3 speakers.

Obviously a big step down, speakerwise, from yours. But, I ended up getting rid of the whole setup because of the extremely aggressive high frequencies. My ears simply could not take it. I tend to be sensitive to HF's and prefer soft dome tweeters to metal anyway.

I tried a lot of different things to smooth things out, but nothing ever made it to the tolerable level. Rotel+B&W = cold&hard, to me.

How many hours play-time do you have on the system?

But, keep in mind, I am the low-power SET tube amp + high-efficiency single-driver system kind of guy. Many perceive what I like as soft and mushy with no balls.

Different strokes for different folks.
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