[Steve]

Hi Doug,

     May I ask one more question Doug? Is there any chance the ICs and/or speaker wires might be contributing to the harshness you are experiencing? Sometimes, sometimes, silver, if not terminated well, can cause a problem. If you are using copper, there usually isn't as much worry about in that regard.

Also, you might be able to bypass the entire analog stage in the player. Lowers the gain a little, but sonics are definitely improved, at least in my player.

It takes alot of work and stringent listening tests/auditions to get things right in a system. The first step to setting up an audio system, imo, is getting a solid foundation. The preamp and ICs are the only components that one can actually test for specific problems and resolved.

Take care Doug and thanks.

Steve

Great idea Woodsyi. Tj, I think Bunky has 9 total preamps; maybe one might be just right for you.

i don't know if rim's system wires are 100% silver or not.  in any ewent, the digital system sounded more natural w/the three tubed preamps, compared to the bbb.  perhaps, as has been discussed here, it's cuz the bbb needs some more work.  in any ewent, no i/c's were changed when the preamps were changed.  and, the sound was not at all harsh, even w/the bbb.  yust not as musical or life-like..  and, when switching to winyl, the musicality was increased a ton. 

in my system, i find that the alpha-core tq2-ag is extremely neutral cabling, not at all harsh.  and, digital in my system is not harsh, either.  i actually enjoy it.  but again, it doesn't sound as good as my analog set-up.

so, no, i do not think silver cabling is the issue.  i think redbook cd is the issue.  the trick for equipment designers, imo, is to make cd playback sound musical while still preserving the detail...  and, it also has to work well with analog, in the case of amps, preamps, speakers...

regards,

doug s.

Thanks Doug.

"the trick for equipment designers, imo, is to make cd playback sound musical while still preserving the detail."

I agree with you. One experiment I recently performed is bypassing the entire analog gainstage and mute circuitry of the player. This helps alot. Another necessity is treating the CD. This relaxes the sound a great deal imo.

It was just a thought. Helping music lovers is what it is all about.

After this experiment, I believe that preserving the detail and sounding musical can be done to a great extent with redbook CD, at least with the modified Rotel. A clarinet sounds like a real clarinet, drums like real drums, cymbals like cymbals, without the harshness and grit. 

Take care and all the best Doug.

Ps. As a general note, I do demanding multiple method listening/audition testing to make sure the 11A preamp has minimal distortions/artifacts. This is far superior to simply "voicing" as others teach, which is not as sensitive or accurate a test. In fact, no one to date has been able to differentiate when the 11A/ICs are in the system or out of the system. So all the dynamics, imaging, timbre etc remains intact from the original recording, whether TT or Cd player sourced.