Magnepan 1.7 too bright, HELP

Thanks for all the interesting suggestions, I guess I have at least a few weeks project ahead of me, experimenting.

If I were to change one of the electronics, to make things a little warmer, cd player / pre-amp / power amp which one would be the best bang for the buck, I cannot afford to change all three at present.

I understand every system is different. In my case, I don't have luck in SS preamp. I always feel the sound is too bright and sometimes harsh. I tried upgrade cables, no significant improvement. I tried to change to another SS amp, no luck. I tried to add a DAC with tube buffer, no luck. Until I change to a tube preamp, I start to see the improvement. So, I would suggest to get a nice tube preamp. I am not sure what is your price range, tried to search for the thread for best tube preamp under $1000. I remember some of the suggestions are Mapletree 4 SE, AES DJH, PrimaLuna Prologue 3. I am using a PrimaLuna Prologue 3 now, very good preamp. But you need to pay attention to its very high output impedance and 12dB gain. You need an amp with at least 100k ohm input impedance.

Jafreeman...Clearly you don't know what you're talking about. You shouldn't post

I'm partial to Cary tube pre-amps, but I think the Prima Luna's are among the best deals in all of audio. Great, warm sound, at a reasonable price.

Also, older ARC and Mac gear that is less expensive sounds stellar as well. I like maggie with a tubed pre, and powerful amp. Mellows out the sound with the tubes and gives you great bass with the powerful amps.

Well you sort of opened a Pandora's box when you asked this question. My advice, don't spend any money right now, especially on cables or power cords. First play w/ the speaker position and the see what you can do about the room interactions. Post the dimensions of the room, where the speakers stand in the room, and what you have behind the speakers. Start with the room and speaker placement before you buy anything else. You've got a speaker, for better or worse, that is sensitive to what's driving it; however, even w/ very high end equipment Mangepans can still perform well below par if they are not placed correctly. With some more detailed information about your room the folks here will help you optimize your acoustics, first priority.