2k to spend what should I upgrade first

[Leehallam]

I am planning on spending antother 2k on my system but dont know if to spend it on a Stereo amp on new speakers. I like the look of the B&W PM1`s but dont have a Stereo amp as yet i use my Denon 3312 for AV & music.

What is going to be the best addition to my system Amp or Speakers.

Any ideas/suggestions welcome please.

Lee

 

[Anonymous]

Personally I'd say that if you already like your AV amp and your speaker set-up for AV but want a more dedicated stereo channel then add a decent stereo power amp to your set-up & then take it from there

I think adding that and seeing what difference it makes to the soundstage with using your B&W 685 fronts first would be the ideal option and then you can decide if you want to the upgrade the front channel speakers and what to!

The B&W PM1's would be superb but theyre not cheap and you may find that they dont gel with the rest of the system as well as you'd hoped!

 

[CnoEvil]

Lee, you have a good budget there, and where you spend it depends on where your priorities lie.
eg. How much time do you spend listening to 2 channel?

Your amp can handle better speakers....does it have the option to biamp (using rear channels) and does it have a "stereo direct" setting where all processing is by-passed?

What speaker cables and i/c are you using? Have you tried after market mains cables?

If you want to upgrade your front speakers, you need to be careful not to upset the balance with the centre one.

If the Denon has pre-outs, you can connect in another amp. If you connect a power amp, you are still using the preamp of the Denon, which is likely to compromise the sound.
If going this route, I would look at an integrated amp with an HT bypass (eg. MF M3i), which means for 2 channel, the signal isn't going through both preamps.

So to sum up. I think you should upgrade the front speakers, and maximize the sound of the Denon with good cables (s/c, i/c and mains), biamping and using stereo direct (if this is poss).
At the end of this and the sound isn't quite right, go for a good integrated amp with HT bypass.

You can of course do it the other way round and borrow a good integrated amp. Then just stick it into your system and see what it sounds like. I suspect the speakers would still be the weak link.

 

[Leehallam]

Thanks for your feedback.

I have listened too the BW PM1 powered by a Roksan caspian m2 today WOW.

So I have decided to buy both I just need to decide what comes now and what comes in March.

Can I connect the roksan and to my denon av amp using the pre-out on the denon? And does this effect the sound quality at all?

Thanks Lee