My 1977 Klipsch Cornwalls can be bright w/SS electronics and especially digital audio, but with the Outlaw 1050 connected to either a CD player or DVD player the highs are too bright. The cymbals in music start to stand out from the sound. Some recordings are worse than others.

Is this typical with other receivers?

I can improve the sound w/analog inputs.

I would upgrade to the 950/4100 if I thought it would help but it seems I need an external DAC and perhaps a tube pre-amp for 2-channel.

any other suggestions?

What some speaker builders do (diy) to tame overly bright tweeters is to add a resistor at the positive terminal of the tweeter. The resistor is attached at the end of the positive tweeter wire and then the other end of the resistor is attached to the positive terminal of the tweeter (series). I would start with a 1 ohm x 10 Watt resistor. The resistor values come in .1 ohm increments.
just another option.

Hoots:

Although I use a very different speaker setup from yours, I also have noticed a certain brightness or stridency when I switch from the analog inputs on my 1050 to the Toslink digital connection(when playing a 2 channel, 16/44 CD). I agree with the previous post about using a resistor to tame your tweets. Try to use a good quality non-inductive resistor like the Lynk resistors available from Parts Express, Madisound, Meniscus, etc. An assortment of typical inexpensive sand-cast resistors(ranging from appx. 1 ohm to 8 ohm) can be used at lower volumes to 'dial in' the desired level of reduction. Non-inductive behavior in this case is important because extra inductance in the circuit could possibly affect the crossover to the tweeter, and that's not what you're after. I would also add that if you need to use a resistor that is equal to or greater than the impedance(actually, DC resistance, or Re) of your tweeter, the "resistor in series" solution will not likely be effective. I hope this helps.

[This message has been edited by NaturalBornOutlaw (edited April 25, 2003).]

Compared to the entry level receivers from Denon and Yamaha that I've personally listened to; I find the 1050's sound to be the least strident of them all. That's actually part of the reason I bought one in the first place!

Another reason I like the 1050 is because of the pre-amp outputs. In your case, you might want to look into an external amp, say something of a tube nature, to power your horns. It's nice to know that option is there before messing with your speakers themselves.

The 1050 is very good in two-channel stereo. As with anything else, so much depends on all of your components and their interactions. As I stated in another post, I auditioned the 1050 as well as several different receivers, some costing as much as $1,000.00. I chose the 1050 in part BECAUSE of it's stereo music performance. I would also try to use the left and right inputs of the 5.1 ch direct input for your CD. I believe this is a straight-thru analog bypass. I'm going to try this myself and see how it works. I also agree with the above post about using the pre-outs to drive a tube amp for your mains. I recently heard a pair of tube amps- (http://www.adireaudio.com/home_audio/electronics/electronics.htm) driving my friend's circa 1981 Klipsch Heresy speakers. I was not only impressed by the sound of the 1050 as a 2-channel preamp; I was amazed that the amps only cost $249.00 each(monoblocks).
To emphasize: I love the 1050's stereo peformance, especially at the price! I just hear a bit more high-frequency information when I use the digital out on my CD to drive the 1050's digital inputs. Could this manifest itself as bright or harsh sound? Probably. Give a post to let us know how you make out. Jeff

I have been running a Dynaco ST-70 tube amp connected to the 1050 and I connected a CD player using analog cables. This helped a lot--I recently switched back and really noticed the brightness...at first I thought it was the DVD player but I now have determined it's the DaC by connectiong the CD player using the digital cable.

I'm currently trying the ST-70 and it's PAS3 tube pre-amp for 2-channel...the PAS3 isn't great but certainly not bright. Switching back to HT is a pain (swap speaker cable connections) so I'll probably go back to 1050 and ST-70 with the analog connections. I might try the pass through as well. I've been running my TT in passthrough with a phono stage.

I have 4 Heresys and 2 cornwalls.

Using the Dynaco tube amp connected to the Outlaw seems to help...some rock CDs have a strong focus on the cymbal beat which really stands out with the SS AVR. Using the 1050 and Dyanco helps. Tracks that aren't mixed this way are much better.

My speakers are bright so the tube amp seems to help.

I did try a CD player with nice interconnects to the 5.1 l/r bypass connection. I had two copies of a cd...one in the DVD player and one in the CD player. After SPL adjustments it was hard to tell them apart. Only using cheap freebie analog cables with the cd player connected to the CD jack did I hear a big difference...less bright but probably less quality too.

Hoots:

I'm glad to hear that your system is sounding better to you. I didn't want to offend, so I refrained from saying something that you mentioned in the above post... The Klipsch are somewhat bright, designed as they were with ca. 1977 electronics. On one hand, the "t.h.d." camp, listened mostly through speakers with dome tweeters that had only moderate power response in the upper octaves. No surprise that those electronics sound 'bright and grainy', and the speakers 'voiced' using those components sounded lifeless when used with some of the "high end" front ends of the day! On the other hand, I heard my first pair of K-Horns in about 1979 (or thereabouts, if memory serves) on (again, I think) an Audio Research SP-6 & D-60(all tube). This was the most life-like sound I'd ever heard from a stereo system! Later we found out that THOSE electronics were rolled-off in their upper-octave response due to the limitations imposed by the tubes of the day. Whatever. All I know is that the additive and subtractive euphonies synergistically produced a gorgeous, if guilty, kind of magic! Enjoy your tubes AND your 1050, as do I. Oh, and thanks for being the catalyst which brought me back in time to when 'the magic' held powerful sway over me. Jeff.