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I guess describing brightness is difficult because a lot of things can cause the effect of feeling too bright. Seems most of our aversions are based in a sharp/hard quality to tipped up, or tipped up feeling mid-to-high frequency areas of the spectrum, and usually some combination of those areas.
It seems to me about anything can contribute, like those mentioned... distortions, timing issues (phase), spectral imbalances in gear, or from room reflections and modes.... But even with a decent spectral balance, without distracting peaks and nulls, a balance that is light from the lower mids down tends to lean and bright. Alternately "dull," with all else good, can just be weighing toward too much bass in the balance.
But to me, more important, with all good spectrally, these conditions and more can contribute to signal concentration where potential complexity is smeared together, concentrated, sounding hard... I'm thinking how too-strong macro dynamics can amplify hard note intensity. If that same information is allowed to be more naturally clarified with parts, wires, and design, etc, concentrated detail can expand into complex harmonic information, taking the edge off. And if it balances, it can manifest as a more complete representation of the instruments, one that is smooth from greater resolution, but also clearer, bringing out nuances.... like nuanced touches of hair and rosin on strings, spit on reeds, wood vibrating, finger hits on strings, air, textures, decays...
The signal more complex from clarifying space differentiation between fine detail, better resolution and more correct timing done well, can transform information that was hard, into more limitless, natural and relaxed music.
But if timing and clarification of resolution/removal of smearing are not across the spectrum, it does not feel right. If each area of the frequency range does not have relatively correct timing and resolution, the whole sound does not feel integrated and complete. To me this is at least as big a deal as spectral balance.... timing imbalances contributing to spectral imbalances if timing is not balanced bottom to top...another culprit for not being able to feel/hear the subtle stuff that can really make the music feel natural and realer.
To this end, like most of us, but some more than others, I am always very carefully tuning for more complete power. Power from the house, and in power supplies for the gear. Everything counts... all the receptacles, how we approach power with parts we use to create, protect and filter it, every cable and all the cable ends, IEC connectors... how well connections fit and how smooth the metal is to allow better conduction in a good fit.... and for those of us using, or looking at the SDFB, before the SDFB, our long explorations with fuses.
Lon bringing up the Shunyata Defender is a good pointer to me. I have used one since they first came out... not a breathtaking change, but it was good enough to keep even back then when my system was less resolving. And especially in concert with other quality filters that act similarly, they can really help clean the whole sound by removing subtle sounding distortions that are irritating more from feel than recognized sound a lot of times, at least until we fix them. To me, sonically, the Shunyata allowed more very fine senses of space and detail, and I think it did it by reducing distortions/smearing... not from taking away signal information, but from resolving it better... making the detail better, more complex. By solving distortions, even ones we may not be able to measure as heard, we can still perceive it apparently in good system/rooms, and resolving detail more fully and reducing smearing are two sides of the same coin. While carefully keeping/making all else good, this to me is the best read I have found toward relaxing hardness and brightness into music.
I guess I stopped being able to blame "detail" for brightness a long time ago. My SE 34 Decware amp and MG944s helped a lot, allowing me to hear so much more, but importantly, also allowing my Tranquility DAC front end to better show its potential. In that DAC development, lots and lots of attention and experiments were about allowing fuller and more complete harmonic complexity as a means to resolve "digital" toward a high quality analog sound. With carefully selected cables, and computer and software feeding it (all carefully selected and tuned with blind testing), as my system and room became more able show it, that DAC was revelatory to me. It opened a whole world, leading to exploring refinements system and room-wide ever since...
Alternately, systems and rooms, so complex, if anything concentrates the signal/detail, it will mess it All up, caps, wires, connectors, resistors, tubes.....power, components, speakers….room….and vibration! But if those all work together, the glory of smooth and natural complexity can be found, and this has been the ultimate read for me. With all else pretty right, "more space between the particles of sound" creates the sense of more particles of sound making the music, equating to more natural and complete complexity. And it makes some sense.... if we truncate the most fragile aspects of the signal and sound, what else goes with it. Just like real music in a really revealing room... there is way more complexity than linear thought and words can pinpoint or describe easily.
With this “new tool” for discerning ways to improve the musical experience, I learned more and more to dislike attempts at solving "brightness" with roll-off, and too obvious attempts to mask higher frequencies with "warmth," which to me often sounds veiled and dark. And the more I went the other way... carefully increasing fine resolution to open the signal, the signal less concentrated, increased functional detail can awaken and relax the sound, resolving hardness without sacrifice... while also resolving "warming" qualities!
I love what I think of as real warmth, where the finest detail in harmonic information and high extension are not overwhelmed... instead couched in a little darker/sweeter tone. I guess the sweetening aspect is the combination of slight darkening with great timing and complexity.... without masking detail complexity. It is the "affect" of warmth I can't stand... always taking the life out of the music for me.
No doubt there is more to it, but I never cease to be amazed at how more resolution and space, with musicality, can just keep getting better and better and better... And more an more, what I hear as musicality in parts or tubes or cables or components......always seems to be associated with less restricted resolution in space, making spectral, detail, and timing balances more complete, "enhancing" a naturally musical and friendly experience.
Based on all sonic reports, the SDFB makes sense toward this end. Guessing the "sluggos" must be from pretty nice materials and method, so not only supporting a bigger/freer transfer of energy, but a cleaner, more resolved transfer of energy. And taking out bottle necks and distortions caused by from fuse use, seems the SDFB can allow more complete everything, including better timing and more complexity. For me, also important, it sounds like it can do this without contributing much to a spectral shifts toward dark/thick like oversized cables can....
So my thanks to you early adopters for all your impressions and ideas … I ordered a few with some copper and gold dipped sluggos to play with, and hope to get to try them later in the week! Excited.
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