Hi- I'd that's a very nice system you have there! Lucky you that you're sort of at a nice plateau for what you can achieve at this level! I'm pretty much at the same point with my system too. It takes a bit to STOP thinking about what's next. I'd say just enjoy-----

Upgrades from this point on will A)either be looking for a different "sound" or B) cost big bucks. Getting somehting even for twice the price of most of your equipment will yield smallish results. Maybe speakers would the thing to look at- you could get ones that go deeper and are more articulate, etc. But again- you're going to be in the $5k + region. I'd just sit back and enjoy. Or if you have the need to keep spending, work on a good home theater system!

I would also look into the Shanling CD-T 1500. If you don't like the sound you can always use it to transport yourself to Alpha Centauri.

Why not consider a top quality universal player? I see you're into vinyl also, so you'll appreciate my point of view in my review of my modded Pioneer Elite DV-58AV over in the Digital section. SACD, DVD-A and other hi-rez digital formats are giving vinyl a run for the money now, so why not get a player that serves your CDs well and opens up other alternatives.

Dave

Quote:
... is giving me some pleasure, with "some" CD's.
Classical & Jazz are mostly fine, rock is 90% unbearable, but this is probably due to the way it was recorded. right/wrong?

Hmm. Sounds like a nice system and I don't know why 90% of rock sounds unbearable on it. The genre is not necessarily recorded worse than other genres - sometimes yes, but I have a ton of stuff which sounds great. Not "audiophile" labels either. I'm flummoxed as to why you're not getting good results. Yes, you could upgrade, but you already have a high quality, expensive system that should be giving you lots of pleasure, so I'm not sure if upgrading is the answer.
Let's see - can you play Feist's "The Reminder" or Grandaddy's "Just like the Fambly Cat", and see what you think? Those are "regular" recordings on CD that have good sound. (I researched this by going back a whole 24 hours and noting what I played on CD yesterday). If those don't sound good on your system - I dunno. Are you maybe playing it too loud? Or maybe your room is too reflective, that can make the sound harsh. Do things sound better on the headphones?

Quote:
I do have a "universal" player (Denon DVD-2910), which I had got when I started a (stereo) home theater system, simply because my "best buy" DVD player sounded like crap. This was an upgrade I have not regretted, but musically speaking, the player does not come close to the A3.2.

Check out:
http://www.tweakaudio.com/EVS-2/Modifications_to_SACDUniversal.html

That's cool, I've got Crimson, Yes, and Genesis in my collection too - but all on vinyl, so I don't know how the CD versions sound.

Yes, the tube stage on the X-Can may well help tame the treble.

I don't know if you have tone controls on the amp or speakers, but if you do, lower the treble and/or midrange and see if that helps. Or try some "toe-out" on the speakers and see if that helps. For "diagnostic" purposes, you could try temporarily hanging some cloth or something over the tweeter/midrange and see if that tames an aggressive treble.

Other than that, I'm out of ideas. I agree mightily that it's about the music, so I wish you were getting more enjoyment from the cd's without regard to relative recording quality. Let us know how it comes out.

I think you have several issues that probably all contribute toward the spike
in the 2-6Khz range. You are correct to assume that a lot of the problem is
already in the discs themselves. Popular music, including many remasters of the
classic rock era are terrible in this regard.

Absorbing these frequencies as much as possible with room treatments that prevent
the reflections from bouncing around will help, as will toeing out the speakers (usually,
though not always) and properly placing the speakers in the room to maximize the
chance of not having frequency peaks and nulls that make the problem worse.

Using a tube buffer between your CD player and your integrated would probably
be worthwhile and they are pretty inexpensive these days. You mentioned having tried
cables, and I think there are several that would help you reduce the blistering, like
Tara Labs Reference Gen. II, Cardas Cross or the really inexpensive Audioquest Type 4.
The Tara Ref Gen. II is the mellowist cable I've ever heard. Excellent texture and fullness
without a hint of zip.

In the end, you have to identify what is contributing the most to your problem. For people
who like all kinds of music, the bottom line is do you want your system to sound good
with the music you listen to the most at the expense of fidelity with well recorded
material or experiment with compromises that you can live with in each? The compromises
are what keeps people chasing their tails to find the right balance.

The biggest bang for the buck, that manufacturers of new don't like to talk about:

Modification.

Consider having the CD player modified. New output section or modifications...and a clocking mod.

Best bang for the buck - period.

Spend the rest on something else! Maybe something new......

Edit: just looked. $1500 in 2002.

Good enough to modify, most definitely.

I'd say that an approx $500-600 modification package should scare the living bejesus out of you, sonic improvement wise.

You'll get wildly varying answers to your digital cable question but this stuff rocked in my transport to DAC setup. In any case you need digital cable in that it has wider bandwidth than standard interconnect wire.

All the Stereovox cables are great IMO but their digital is the most cost effective. It did not need burn in time.

http://www.tweekgeek.com/product.asp?pf_id=StereoVoxXV2

yeeeeahh..it's like that.

Once you find the 'audio heroin' button in yer bean..it's all over for your wallet abuse.

Until you get used to that particular level of satisfaction.

Then you start the next round of searching for new buttons to press even harder. It may not happen today. It may not happen tomorrow. But it will.

I'm glad you didn't make the mistake of getting on the component swapping
merry-go-round and was able to find a grin on the cheap. More money isn't
always the answer. Well, at least "silly" money, anyway.