Brightness in my Set Up

[DKeith]

I recently purchased the 1070 Pre and Amp combination.

The sound is slightly bright in the combo, causing some fatigue while listening (for me anyway). Do you know of any interconnects or speaker cable that might be a good match for this set up to make the sound a little less bright but not compromise the positive characteristics? I am using the RCD-1072 as a source and Paradigm Studio 60s as my speakers. Thanks, David

[TimGRA]

Have you had the speakers for awhile or are the new as well? Paradigm V2 or V3 60's?

[soundhound]

Also, all of my Rotel which was purchased new was a little "clinical" sounding for the first couple of weeks. Once they get burnt in they usually soften and wake up quite nicely. If you need good interconnects see the forum here for cat cables, Lex makes them.

[PewterTA]

How long have you been using all the equipment.

At first I didn't like the sound of my B&W speakers, but they "broke in" and when I got all my rotel gear, I thought the same thing, but again they "broke in" over time.

If you have only been listening for less than a week or two, give them more time...you need to get used to them as well...

I would not look for cables that will make the system less "bright." That's not the way to go about it, you need to return your rotel (or Paradigms) and get something that matches the other (speakers or processors).

[DKeith]

I have the v3 Paradigms. And to answer the other questions, Most of my gear is less than 1 month old. So maybe I just have to break it all in. Also, I can appreciate response that says NOT to use cabling to resolve this issue. I will be patient and see how things go for now, and maybe upgrade a component at a later date.

[DrJRapp]

I Also, I can appreciate response that says NOT to use cabling to resolve this issue.

You should not use cabling to resolve this issue, but you should confirm that the cabling isn't contributing to the brightness. Certain so called "premium" brands of copper cables can transmit signals in such a manner so as to seem somewhat thin in the mids and bass, contributing to an impression of brightness. When I moved from my Monster "THX certified" copper cables to something made of silver I was amazed at how much "weight" the sound gained.

Perhaps we can get Doug (Lex) to jump in and explain, from a cable experts perspective why this is so.

[DKeith]

I have simple copper connections all around. But when you write about switching to something made of silver, do you mean speaker cables or interconnects between components? David

[thyname]

Get SilverCats interconnects from Lex (aka Doug) in CatCables, I use them for my RX-1052 receiver to RCD-1072, and sound great! for pair of .5m I paid around $85 with s&h.

[benny]

I've got an almost identical set-up. The sound really smoothed out over time, espescially in the Studio 60s. I did replace all the rca's with high dollar, name brand stuff and that also helped alot more than I thought. Also, I guess you have the 60s bi-wired from the 1070 with good cable? I swapped the speaker cable and was shocked again at the difference, much more bass to "even out the brightness"!

[basementjack]

I'll chime in and say I felt my brand new rotel's brightness seemed to tame with time - using paradigm ref 60's v2 (which were already broken in)

I'm not sure how much I buy into various cables sounding different, but one thing I am convinced of is the RCA connectors impedence should match that of the cable, and many cables are not constructed in this way.

Again everyone speaks highly of catcables, and I believe they support this site financially so buying a set of cables from them would be a good first step.

[DKeith]

Thanks for the Perspectives

Okay, I am going to proceed with at least some new cabeling and then give these a little more time to break in. I like the contour control feature on the preamp and the overall power of the amp, so I hope it all works out.

[NonSense]

Have you tried leaving your gear on all the time?

Maybe your listening sessions are not long enough for your gear to reach optimal operating temperature. Some people claim that it may take even days for their equipment to truely warm up, and produce the sound they enjoy the most.

I have had good results.