I recently made some upgrades that I expect to keep me very happy for years to come. The only upgrade I have in mind is a phono stage that matches the level of the other components in my main system. Definitely not a “need” though.
My system is in the basement, in a soundproof room that doesn't let sound in -- or out. It's a bit smaller than ideal and only 7 feet tall. That is not to complain -- I'm lucky to have it! But that room, besides tons of acoustic treatment, needs DSP to even out frequency response in the bass, and a little DSP up into the midrange helps, too. Those who have been in the room from the start can hardly believe how an echo chamber became a really good listening room. I am more than satisfied with equipment I'm using, but I'm always looking for a better DSP unit. My old TacT 2.2X didn't have the best sound quality, but it was incredibly flexible. Once you set it up, you could change anything, add a little tweak here or there, say a BBC dip for some material. With 9 room-correction memories and around 20 PEQ memories, it was all at the touch of a remote. My current Anthem STR Preamp has much better sound quality, and ARC is better at room correction than the TacT software ever was. The STR just lacks a little flexibility, which becomes an irritation at times. For example, there's no way to program a BBC dip. The tone controls and other DSP are among the best I've heard, but I would like that last iota of control. But when it's sounding right, and my head is on straight, I love it.
Mostly satisfied. But then I replaced my amp, turntable, phono stage, and cassette deck last year. I still need to do the CD player because it seems to be dying. After that, it’s a calibrated mic and probably some room treatments. I plan to have someone go over the Marantz receiver I took out of the system. After that, I might get new speakers, so I can pair the ones I have back with the Marantz in another room. That will probably be it until I’m feeling flush and get a new phono stage.
So true. I remember when all it was all the music with not a thought about the little boxes it came out of.
I am very satisfied. It took me a long time to get where I'm at now, and a lot of trial and error, but I'm there. I have my dream speakers, my EgglestonWorks Andra IIs, which were designed with help by Von Schweikert and Bob Ludwig (and I believe Steve Hoffman was considering them at one time), but whatever, they are even from top to bottom. I've considered "upgrading" them to the Andra IIIs, but honestly I'm afraid to screw with the sound. I went through so many DACs, and I was almost stuck on Chord, but when I found the Linn KDS/3 there was no going back; the bast DAC/stramer I've heard in side-by-side comparisons with some of the other heavy hitters. The only thing I've really considered upgrading is my amp. The dumb audiophile side of me says that I can't possibly have a Class D amp (handmade in Houston) that compliments my expensive ass speakers and DAC, but man, I've had all kinds of Class A, Class AB, tubes galore, and on and on in my rig, but I just can't part with the girth and mirth of my D-Sonic amp. I mean, this is an $1800 amp, against mammoth Class A and tubed monoblocks, yet my Class D just has some kind of symbiotic relationship with the rest of the rig that I never would have thought possible. Then add in my acoustic treatment and it's down to a science. So, this has been my rig since September 2017. I can't see spending any more cash on this thing. Besides, I don't even have a 4k TV yet!
Yes, I'm finally satisfied with my system...for now. The only upgrade I'm thinking about is replacing my Rega Exact cartridge with a moving coil cartridge, when my Exact wears out. That's a couple of years down the road. I know there are better systems out there than mine but no matter how good my system is, there will always be something better out there. I've decided to enjoy what I have. Part of what brought me here is seeing music lovers on Youtube getting a great deal of enjoyment out of their music on much more modest equipment than mine.
I'm very satisfied with my system. At this point I'm only curious about the synergy my system may have paired with a 300B amp. I don't feel that my system lacks anything but I may scratch the 300B amp itch. If it turns out to also produce a great sound but simply presents a different "color" then I'd be happy keeping 2 amps to occasionally switch between. Kind of like having multiple carts.
My system stayed basically the same for many, many years. I knew from past experience what my system was missing and I’m now making some rather drastic moves to bring my system to the level I want. I’m sure I’ll be very happy when everything is delivered and set up. I’d $BETTER$ be happy when everything is set up. The only thing remaining of my original system is my speakers. ‘Nuff upgrades!
I found the same thing with my new Class D amp. It just clicked with my speakers better than anything else did. Every amp I've tried (all the others were AB) had negligible distortion, but somehow the PuriFi-based amp seems to sound cleaner yet.
I really don’t think that’s the main reason at least not in my case. I’ve relatively done very little upgrading for many years and, due to experience I know what I want to improve and decided to do it all at once. I’m not interested in changing components all the time and would hope these latest moves will be the end game except for advancement in streaming technology which is my only source in my main system and the main music source in my A/V system other than the tv. No disc players at all.
Yeah, I don't even know what to say about amps these days, because really, Class A is the same basic design as 80+ years ago. Tube amps go back to the early days, as well. Class AB was a revelation at one time, but now it's old hat. Class D enters the market and kind of sucks, but then Class D technology hits a big stride. Audiophile purists, like myself really, say that Class D switching amps can't possibly be as pure as some of the earlier class amps. But as you mentioned, the technology is there, so you begin looking at distortion profiles and now Class D is at least even with the rest, with chunks of headroom! The only way I would replace my current amp is if THC AAA technology was used in an amp that provides enough grunt for my speakers. Not that they are hard to drive, but so far (and I haven't looked recently) even when I was using two Benchmark AHB2s as dual mono, the headroom sucked. I don't have to drive my rig at insane volumes, but I want to drive them with total ease. Heh. I just looked and it seems Benchmark now has a stereo AHB2 amp @ 380w per channel into 8ohms. Hmmm...
Very simple nowadays for stereo...... Pioneer LX500 Universal Disc Player Lyngdorf TDAi 3400 Amp ATC SCM19 speakers M&K X10 Subwoofer
Nice looking system choices. I actually had the LX500 on order last year but it didn’t work out. That’s good in a way as now I’m into just streaming as a music source.
Thanks. I stream as well now using Qobuz/Roon from my MacBook direct to the Lyngdorf, but still typically fall back on my CD and SACD collection most of the time.
Oh, my bad, silly me, I was citing the same old specs from the AHB2 run in dual mono. That can happen when you're reading from a 6" screen. Ah, well, for me I used to go to all of these meets and audio shows, hearing all of the latest and greatest, listening to other people's rigs, so I had a lot of envy. Then my buddy sold me these coveted speakers which I always adored. He went on to buy some Focal speakers, but they never sounded as good as the Andra IIs. He lost out. Lo and behold, he's still bouncing back and forth between different speakers and here I sit with his old ones that I wanted all along. I have brand new crossovers and woofers if I ever need them. Anyway, I don't feel the itch to go hear other folk's gear no' mo'. Instead, they want to come to me.
Covid lockdown got me listening to lot more music and i wound replacing my main system and finally going with separates and cant believe i went this long just using receivers. My main system cost is 3x what is was before, but i repurposed my Yamaha receiver to use in my office when the family has the nerve to kick me out of the living room to do remote work or school...the nerve!
Reviewers must have huge listening rooms as they always say they buy the review sample if they love it. What do they do when they come across the same type of component they like even more? They must have huge component collections.
I actually really enjoy my system , but upgraditis keeps flaring up ! .... I need a doctor , Stat ! But I don't really know what could be upgraded without having to pillage my bank account . I'm not really into tweaks or sideway moves, the changes have to be meaningful and immediately obvious. Big steps so to speak ... which is starting to require big money
