Advice on upgrading my system

[TC72]

I've given up use of the lounge to my kids and I'm now watching all my films in my office on a 50" TV. I want to decide what's the best direction to take my system in next. This is my current setup:

Source: iTunes on Mac computer [All CDs ripped as lossless] + PS4 for BluRay
DAC: Cambridge Audo DacMagic [connected via optical]
Pre Amp: Audiolab 8000C
Power Amps: 2xRotel RB-970BX [configured as mono blocks]
Speakers: Q Acoustics 2050

I'm in a small room, 2.5M wide by 3.5M long. I'm also starting to have a lot of crackling which is linked to the Audiolab pre-amp volume knob.

I mostly listen to music but I'd like to move to a setup which gives me surround sound for films. In my lounge I have a nice Yamaha RX-V675 which is great for films but I don't like it for music.

My budget is around £1000 so I'm wondering if I should go for something like the Q Acoustics q20001 5.1 speaker package and an amplifier like the Marantz NR1607 which would give me surround sound and allow me to use the pre outs to use my power amps to drive the 2050s for music.

Does anybody have any ideas or do you see something really unbalanced about my setup which I should fix first? If I decide to stick to a stero setup I'm interested in the Cambridge Audio CXA60, but I'm not sure if that would be better without the power amplifiers or should I buy something like the Cambridge Audio CXN connected straight to my power amps?

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

I'd probably start by replacing the pre-amp with something more up to date, then add a modest used 5.1 surround sound receiver, possibly secondhand, with the caveat that it should have pre-amp outputs that you can feed into your new pre-amp. That way your "proper stereo" remains a "proper stereo" but doubles up to drive the fronts when watching moves. I'd then add a centre speaker or soundbar you can use as a centre speaker, then a 12-inch subwoofer, and finally spend whatever's left over on some rear / side surround bookshelf speakers, again possibly secondhand, which you can either put on stands or hang on nails in the wall. Several bluetooth speaker sets are also available which could be used for the rear surrounds.

 

[TC72]

Thanks for the advice, I just bought an Audiolab M-DAC that's arriving tomorrow. I'll stick to fixing the audio first and then move onto cinema.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

How much did you get for the kids?

I've got two brats and a wife to offload. I might even pay someone to take them....

 

[TC72]

I found a new one online that was reduced to £435 because it had 'minor marks', it's arriving this afternoon so we'll see how bad they are. I'll sell my 25 year old Audiolab 8000C and Cambridge Audio DacMagic to get some money back.

I've also got an old Yamaha av amp that does DTS and Dolby (no HD audio) and an old centre speaker.

I'd want to set it up so that when I'm listening to music it goes m-dac -> power amps but then when using the av amp I'd want the front pre outs on that to go to the power amps.

Can I use a cheap switch like this from amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/HQ-Sources-Output-Manual-2-Port/dp/B000XT8XHU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478777964&sr=8-1&keywords=audio+switch

My worry is having it connected directly to the power amps, any spike could cause some damage, if not to the speakers then at least to my ears.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

Your AVR, provided it has pre amp outputs of course, should take care of the power amps. I use a Marantz 7010 and a cheap Onkyo power amp to drive the last two channels in my 7.2.4 setup. I could equally use more power amps to drive the fronts etc. as well, and there are plenty of people who use Emotiva and other multi-channel power amps as well.

Be careful, however, that you don't create some sort of feedback loop into your M-DAC by connecting it and the receiver to the same inputs on the power amps. I would suggest using a switch on the speaker wires, not the links between pre and power amps, instead, using the receiver amps to drive the speakers when watching movies.

Before you go down that route you might want to try using the HDMI outputs from your source boxes to connect to the receiver and use any digital audio outputs to connect to spare digital inputs on your M-DAC. You'll have to experiment with spare / cheap fibre optic and / or coaxial interconnects and the settings on your source boxes to find a work-around though.