How to fix my detailed, accurate but BRIGHT system


Hi everyone, I need help. I like my system in that the base is tight, it has good detail, it's dead quiet and it plays well at higher volumes. What I don't like is the mids and highs are way to forward and the system is lacking warmth. I don't feel my system is very musical or engaging. I'd rather not replace my amp and speakers as I think they are a good match and I don't think I can use a tube amp as these speakers are hungry. I have a large room 22'x38' with a 17' ceiling. I have a lot of glass and all tile floors. Room treatment is not an option as this is our main living space. Should I try a tube DAC, Tube Pre., tube Buffer? How do I warm up the sound I'm getting? My system consists of the following.

Rowland Capri Pre.
Butler 2250 SS/Tube amp
PS Audio Digilink 3 Dac with stage 3 mod.
Aerial 7B speakers
Integra DPS-6.7 DVD/SACD
Wadia 170i (files in lossless)

Thank You in advance for your input!
gregfisk

Did you say Changing Wire or Changing Wife?

You know one letter could make all of the difference in sound quality! (LOL)

Only Kidding!

Thanks for the explanation Al, but I need to read up more about this subject, so I think I'm going to get Robert Harley's book and some others that I've heard about here, because I would certainly like to understand electrical impedance mismatches better.

Rich
I have several pairs of Aerials including the 7Bs. I've run a lot of different amps on the them. I found they sounded all sorts of different depending on the amp. I'm sensitive to highs in recorded music so it was an especially important point to me that they sound right. I also had a number of other speakers and can't say that the highs really change all that much from speaker to speaker. Also, the Aerials are so well built that's it's very easy to have them up too loud and that ends up being painful. I settled on McInitosh and also Bel Canto. You can't beat Mcintosh for smooth pleasing highs IME. I've got the 7Bs in the bedroom now running off Bel Canto's S500. The BC has stronger highs and dynamics than the McIntosh but I would say the highs sound good. Surely the room has something to do with it but if I were you I'd be in the market for a different amp. The Aerials absolutely sound different depending on the amp. I would even go so far as to say that in a blind test with the 8 or 10 amps I've tried with them I could dicern which amp was being used with them.
it has been suggested that a slight alteration of speaker placement might help. i suggest a slight toe-out of your speakers. if you don't like the sound, you can easily reposition the speakers. make sure you use tape to mark the position of your speakers, before you move them.
Well, I have a lot to take in. Pretty funny richlane, you too Mechans. I did try toeing my speakers in, then out to see if this helped. Toeing out did tame down the high end, but then I didn't feel like I was part of the music anymore. sort of like standing in the back of the room listening to a band. Shazam, you stated you thought the PS Dac was a problem for you. I'm wondering if I tried a tube dac like a Havana if this would calm things down. I can get a new one for what I can get for my PS audio. If I don't like it they sell like hot cakes here. I understand that bat tube preamps are discribed by some as dark. I'm wondering if I would benefit from that type of change. Tvad, I will try a different amp. I'm not stuck on the Butler, I just know it's on the warmer side of SS. Listening today I did notice that the louder I turned up my system the brighter the highs got. Maybe this is an indicator of what your talking about, or maybe the highs are bouncing around more, I don't know. Yes, this is a fun hobby, a little frustrating at times, but fun none the less. I thank all of you again for taking the time to help me out.
Post removed