Interconnect suggestions for Audio Research Ref 5SE?

tomic601: I have the Ref 5SE and a Ref Phono 3! So, rather similar there. I wonder how the Tung Sol tubes and the 3 HRS Nimdus feet affected the sound as I appear to be trying to resolve some sort of brightness heard at first in female vocals but really, to a much smaller degree, throughout (in acoustic guitar and violin...). I didn't have this brightness issue with my LS-16.

Back to interconnects... so, I kept the Cardas Clear in place for a couple more days as decooney and salectric suggested. I am still left thinking I was listening to cables rather than the music... fairly coherent sound but definitely rounded off.

I moved the runs of Shunyata Alpha to the CD player and listened to those for a couple of days. I was fairly pleased with the musicality, detail, dynamics, coherence...but they were bright sounding. I had WyWire Diamond between the amp and pre- and suspected they were contributing to the brightness. So, I inserted the Synergistic Atmosphere Excites there instead of the WyWire. That seemed to mitigate some of the brightness but also messed up the coherent sound found with the Shunyata...with that in mind I reached out to thecableco.com and had them send be a second run of the Shunyata Alpha X...I put those between the amp and pre- and the second run between the pre- and the CD player last night. I've had the stereo running all day today trying to get them settled in...so far appears that did no good at all as still bright....dammit!

I also received a used piece of Nordost Valhalla 1, from another vendor, today but have not done anything with that yet as am trying to give the two runs of Shunyata Alpha X a chance.

I see moto_man indicates he runs the Shunata Sigma. I wonder how it differs from the Alpha and whether it will help address this brightness I'm trying to control. So far, i like the Shunyata's the best out of all this listening...if i could only get a handle on  this brightness.

For what it's worth, I also reached out to Audio Research by email asking for feedback. We'll see if they respond.

@fanotunes, FYI, I started out with the Alpha v1's and then moved up to the Sigma's.  I should also mention that in addition, I have a Shunyata Everest that I put in after the upgrade to Sigma.  I am very surprised at the comments about the Shunyata's sounding bright.  In my setup (REF 6, stock tubes, MSB DAC, Pass 250.8, and Wilson Sabrina X speakers), they were not bright at all.  The Everest also made a very noticeable difference in my system, in terms of a blacker background and deeper soundstage.  That is why in one system a certain cable might sound mediocre or bright and in another, absolute perfection.  Maybe if a tried some Transparents, I would like them better.  But because I am perfectly content with my Shunyata's, and the cost of trying to get even better, its not worth it to me.

I found the Shunyatas to be just what I like in my system.  However, always keep in mind that synergy between components and room setup are also critical to how things ultimately sound.  Also keep in mind that cable changes are often noticeable, but they are subtle, so don't obsess over it too much.

@moto_man  how does the sigma sound differ from the alpha?

I jumped the gun a bit went on and dropped a run of Valhalla 1’s in this morning. Maybe a touch less bright? A touch more foundation/body? But have only just plugged them. Need to give them some time I’m sure…

wondering if the brightness is in the 5SE as the previous owner mentioned fighting some brightness…

I wonder if it’s the tubes in the ref5? You got the ref5 preowned so no Idea how many hours on them. Maybe try Cardas Clear Beyond could be worth trying, Siltech is an excellent cable. I’m curious what are you doing about AC power, dedicated power circuits? 

@fanotunes, to my ears and in my system, the Sigmas sounded slightly more refined and in some ways relaxed that the Alpha v.1's, and a blacker background.  However, although I definitely think that the Sigmas are "better" than the Alpha's, these are subtle differences for the most part, with the XLR's.