DAC - AMP - Speakers

Kubs

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Hello All,

I plan on upgrading this year - it will be a gradual process:

£1500 - Amp
£1000 - Speakers (must be standmount)
£1000 - DAC

What would you recommend? I'm after a warm, open, detailed, large soundstage, good low end sound....

I'd be interested to hear if you would apportion the money differently.

Cheers,
Kub
 

moon

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The Onkyo model was the A-900R..... for your info.

http://www.thehomecinemacentre.co.uk/index.php/hi_fi/hi-fi_amplifier/onkyo_a-9000r/
 

moon

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Kubs said:
Hello All, I plan on upgrading this year - it will be a gradual process: £1500 - Amp £1000 - Speakers (must be standmount) £1000 - DAC What would you recommend? I'm after a warm, open, detailed, large soundstage, good low end sound.... I'd be interested to hear if you would apportion the money differently. Cheers, Kub

In my opinion I would destribute the budget like this.

£1800 speakers. maybe Dynaudio or PMC twenty.22

£1200 amp Maybe Naim

£500 DAC

Dont forget some amps now come with DACs built in the latest Onkyo approx(1100 pounds) for instance has one.
 

shooter

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I agree with Moon, spend more on the speakers rather than the amp.

Anything we need to know regarding the room, reflective surfaces or wooden floors?

What is the room size and what music do you prefer?

This info will help :)
 

Kubs

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Room size - 13 x 18 ft

Wooden floor

large rug between listening position and hi fi

I listen to all sorts - Prince / Classical / Hip Hop / House

It's interesting - your advice goes against WHF guidance of spending the most on source and amp and least on the speakers - I'm always open to new approaches.

By the way - the reason I havent mentioned a CD player is because I'm planning on going down the NAS - DAC route.

I appreciate your suggestion regarding the AMP/DAC in one but isnt it best to separate as many components as possible.

Please keep the combination suggestions coming.
 

moon

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Kubs said:
Room size - 13 x 18 ft

Wooden floor

large rug between listening position and hi fi

I listen to all sorts - Prince / Classical / Hip Hop / House

It's interesting - your advice goes against WHF guidance of spending the most on source and amp and least on the speakers - I'm always open to new approaches.

By the way - the reason I havent mentioned a CD player is because I'm planning on going down the NAS - DAC route.

I appreciate your suggestion regarding the AMP/DAC in one but isnt it best to separate as many components as possible.

Please keep the combination suggestions coming.

I'm not sure i go along with the idea that the DAC and amp should be seperate..... others will disagree. One less power cable, no phono cables. It all comes down to how well things are designed and ultimately how they sound. If they sound good, then they are good! regardless of cost, design or implementation.

I really realy really would give those PMC's a bash. A home audition at the very least.
 

shooter

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How will you be getting the music from your NAS? Squeezebox? It has optical out which can go into a DAC or RCA's to use it's own.
 

Kubs

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Yes - I plan on using a SBT or Sonos if they ever release a product that handles hi rez. For the moment I'll use my CDP as a transport ..... its a gradual upgrade.
 

SteveR750

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£2500 means the supernait is in your grasp, should you like its forward presentation. There is also the Moon i3, and possibly a Cyrus pre/power 8xpd if such a combination exists. All have built in DACS which I think offer better vfm than separate dac + amp.
 

Ryan92

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I know you said standmounts, though if you have room for stands, then perhaps you might have room for the AVI ADM40s (floorstanders either due out soon or recently out I haven't been following them that much). Active speakers with a DAC built in, you'll find a lot of guys on here who will reccomend AVI highly, I'm looking at the ADM9.1Ts after hearing a friends. Which could be on your list I suppose, though I think you might be able to do better with that budget.

I realise it's not all that much to do with what you asked for, think of it as a wildcard :)
 

CnoEvil

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With regard to the allocation of budget for amp and speakers, I would remain flexible.

It all depends on the synergy between the two, how easy the speakers are to drive and if you can find something ex-dem.

IMO. Just don't get speakers that are a lot dearer than the amp, though you can do it the other way round.
 

Kubs

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Thanks for the suggestions - this forum is very helpful. I was thinking of apportioning the budget as follows:
Caspian m2 amp
Roksan Tr5 speakers
Audio lab m dac
Will this combination help me achieve the sound I'm after?
One box solution .... It's something I need to look into ...?
 

AlmaataKZ

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Kubs, all oyu need is a pair of ADM 9Ts - dac is built in, the amps are matched to drivers, excellent sound, very neat. Get a sub which your budget easily allows and enjoy. this system will be very hard to beat at any money.

Another optoin is to wait for the forthcoming ADM40s, but there is no certain date for these. EDIT - I see, standmounts only.
 

bluedroog

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I would also suggest you listen to the PMC Twenty 22s, you may also want to try their TB2is, similar size, most consider the 22’s a step forward but so prefer to more relaxed presentation of the older I series. Regardless your speakers are the most important single element in your setup so spend the most here.

If you want detail then a DAC which often gets mentioned is the one from Benchmark, it’s been around a while now so not sure how it stacks up against newer kids on the block.
 

CnoEvil

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If I had your budget, with your taste in presentation, I would be looking at the following kit:

Source:
Linn Sneaky (I've yet to hear better)

Amps:
Musical Fidelity M3i
Sugden Mystro
Electrocompaniet PI-1
Creek Evolution 5350

Speakers
Kef R300
PMC Twenty. 21/22/TB2i
Proac T.Anniversary/D1/D2
Spendor SP3/1R2

Given the size of your room, any standmount will need to be tried in situ to see how it sounds.

If the wooden floor is suspended, extra care will have to be taken to isolate the speakers from it.
 

Kubs

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Thanks, bluedroog - I'm demoing the TB2is this weekend following some research and receommendations on this forum. I have no idea what they sound like but if I was to make a judgement based on their looks I'd say they'd struggle to impress - I'm looking forward in being proved wrong.

The PMC22 are allot to outlay for a pair of speakers - again they dont look that impressive to look at .... I'll ask the dealer to add them to the audition list.
 

CnoEvil

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Kubs said:
Cheers, CnoEvil - the M3i is on the list, so too is the Arcam A38. As is the Primare i30 which can be picked up at a reduced rate.

All well worth hearing. Arcam + PMC is a great match.
 

WinterRacer

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Hi Kubs, another vote for the AVI ADM9Ts from me. A simple system that sounds truly amazing, try to get an audition if you can. Having said that, ideally they need their matching sub, so you might want to look at larger actives, like Event Opal, if you can't easily accommodate the sub.
 
A

Anonymous

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If you don't decide to go with active speakers (i would if it were me) then i'd consider the Harmon Kardon HK990 amplifier, it's got a built in DAC and bags of power, 150wpc i think, so would drive any standmount speakers within budget with ease, they're only about £800 too so you'd have more left over for the most important (by far IMO) thing, speakers.
 

SonofSun

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moon said:
Kubs said:
Hello All, I plan on upgrading this year - it will be a gradual process: £1500 - Amp £1000 - Speakers (must be standmount) £1000 - DAC What would you recommend? I'm after a warm, open, detailed, large soundstage, good low end sound.... I'd be interested to hear if you would apportion the money differently. Cheers, Kub

In my opinion I would destribute the budget like this.

£1800 speakers. maybe Dynaudio or PMC twenty.22

£1200 amp Maybe Naim

£500 DAC

Dont forget some amps now come with DACs built in the latest Onkyo approx(1100 pounds) for instance has one.

+1

Ime the DAC is the least signifant in influencing the sound.
 

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