d4v3pum4:
I used to use Tannoy Mercury and Mercury MX speakers with Denon andArcam. If your system sounds bright or harsh, I suspect it's thePioneer AV Receiver. It sounds like you prefer a warm or neutralsound, so I would suggest going for Yamaha or Denon but ultimately youshouldn't expect miracles from a (budget) AV Receiver for music. Whatis the room acoustics like in terms of furnishings, flooring, wallsetc.? If the system sounds grating, I suspect that no amount ofrunning in will solve this. Tinkering with the room acoustics mightimprove things but I suspect it's the simply the wrong combo ofcomponents for your ears. It could also simply be down to the factyour ears have got used to your old system but demo to be sure.
You mentioned playing the sound through the fronts only, do you have other speakers and a subwoofer? I use 5ch/7ch stereo for music when folks are round but most of the time I use direct. If you're using a subwoofer, obviously check your settings for crossover and so on.
Just using the fronts for now as a stereo pair that's all i have at present, bought the amp to gradually build up into home cinema system...I have been told that the components will have to be run in but i thought i would have some good sound from the start...been told from the shop where i purchased them that this the amp would be ok with the speakers...looking back i think i should have just went for a dedicated stereo amp..My living room is 11'.5" x 22' long, tv in centre of room with speakers (using QED Classis 79 speaker cable) on stands either side..my pc speaker set up has a better sound...
So to cap on equipment:
Pioneer Vsx-918-V-K amp
Tannoy Mercury F1 Custom speakers
Atacama speaker stands
QED Classic 79 strand speaker cable
Toshiba SD190E Dvd player
New Pace standard Sky digibox