A bit too bright

/\ This

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put a chopping board under the equipment to see if that ameliorates the glass stand?

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Towel? Chopping board? Maybe four cucumber slices or a pair of pants.

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The towel test was originally suggested by @litemotiv :relaxed:

Since there is quite a widespread view here that the glass shelves of my Quadraspire rack arenā€™t doing the electronics any favours, Iā€™m considering buying a Quadraspire SVT rack with wooden shelves. Aesthetics have reduced the choice of wood to bamboo or oak. Does anyone have a view as to which of these materials would give the better SQ?

If I had to suggest a cable for reducing brightness it would have been precisely TQ Black! I didnā€™t because, IME, Black achieves its trick of reducing harshness and ā€˜warmingā€™ mids by rolling off extension. I have a little 30yr old Linn system in the home office. Itā€™s 'orribly harsh, probably owing to tired capacitors/innards in the amp. My expedient and cheapish fix was to put TQ Black on it and now it sounds all silky and warm, like itā€™s wrapped in a duvet. So now itā€™s a very easy, pleasant listen. But the top end extension has suffered and the bass is cotton woolly. Thatā€™s fine, in its place, but not in the main system where Iā€™m after as much transparency as possible. (Iā€™m totally not knocking it; if you like what it does thatā€™s all that matters). Key point is that if TQ Black isnā€™t taming your highs then Iā€™d be surprised if thereā€™s a cable solution.

According to prevailing audiophile philosophy: the more expensive one

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My TQ Black cables are routed under the floorboards to come up under the speaker stands. The floorboards have subsequently been carpeted, so it would be quite an involved task to switch cables. Also, I know this is heresy, but I find the stiffness of NACA5 a real pain.

Bamboo sounds bambooey and oak sounds oaky :relaxed:

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Inky coloured silk might just be perfect?

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Iā€™m not so sure, it might sound too silky and kill some of the dynamics but it may impart an inky blackness :relaxed:

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I would first try some little hard pieces of wood under each component, between the glass and the component, to see if the brightness comes from glass. Before investing into a new rack.

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I agree and several other members have made the same suggestion but I canā€™t understand why he doesnā€™t want to give it a try :relaxed:

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Would that not be easier to spend $$,$$$ on a new stand, speakers, and possibly new system?
Maybe move house? I would.:slight_smile:

But, seriously, I think it might be down to the speakers or the speaker positioning. I recall that I had some brightness issue when I had the Dynaudio speakers, but the problem sorted itself out when I switched over to the Harbeth 40.2

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This and the much-recommended playing with speaker positioning.
:man_shrugging:

Perhaps the OP is partially deaf from playing music above the 10 oā€™clock position and is not open to ā€˜hearingā€™ suggestions? :relaxed:

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Yep, Harbeth speakers cannot transmit the full dynamic range of the music so will definitely help in a case like this.

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ā€¦ or some cheap sorbothane ā€˜feetā€™ off fleabayā€¦

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40.2 goes to 20khz which, apparently, is as high as the average human can perceive. Iā€™d call that full range at the top? But, as you allude to, Iā€™ve never heard of a bright Harbeth.

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Have you actually measured it?