First case of Upgradaritis!

[admin_exported]

I`m new hear so hello everone,

I am looking for a bit of advise regarding what to upgrade from my current setup, which consists of Nad C350 amp, Squeezebox Duet (streaming lossless), qed interconnect, and a pair of B & W 601 bi wired with silver anniversary, on apollo stands.

Nice little setup but I have saved some money and decided to upgrade. I am thinking the speakers should be the first on my list. Would i be right or should i upgrade the amp first. Or, is it worth adding a DAC magic first?

I like the sound but it does feel a little "soft" if that makes any sense? Wouldn`t mind a more forward/engaging sound. With this in mind and with a budget of £400-£500 has anyone got any advice please? I`m hoping to get a few ideas that i can then try and audition as at the moment i`m not sure where to start!

Sorry for rambling post, any help would be much appreciated.

P.S. i listen to all sorts but mainly classical, jazz, some rock, floyd etc and occasionally pop!

Regards,

John

 

[jimdonnelly]

If you are happy with your sound then leave well alone and buy more music. Just be aware that once on the upgrade path you may never find peace and harmony again!

 

[Anonymous]

Ha yes,, having read many many old threads and posts I know this to be true. Having said that I will not be deterred that easily so if anyone could offer their opinion on the OP i would be very grateful

Kind regards,

John

 

[JoelSim]

I'd go for a DAC first. then new speakers. But your budget won't buy both for the moment. If you like the sound, the DAC will refine it.

ÿ

ÿ

 

[John Duncan]

Whereas I, even as a DACophile, would probably go for the speakers first in your particular setup. The tricky bit could be finding a dealer who can demo one against the other, since DACs are pretty hard to come by. It ought, however, to be straightforward to get a dealer to lend you a pair of 500 quid standmounts for you to try at home to see if that's the right direction.

 

[Anonymous]

A nice set up, if you want to tighten up the music givin more detail and depth why not spend some money on upgrading the Mains supply?

At least these improvements will stay with you forever, and will give the best musical performace your amplification is capable of giving.

Follow it by investing in either a quality crossover upgrade of your speakers or consider spending decent money on a new pair of speakers to last you for many years.

As JD says there is the slippery path..........

 

[method man]

jeez. im suprised on this thread...

only my opinion. but the guy is using the inbuilt dac of a 150 0r 200 quid squeezebox, that does all manner of other things for that price. he listens to streamed music. certainly the first step is to try a dacmagic. (richer sounds) no benefit take it back.

I have lossless to squeezebox, and the external dac versus the squeeze one is like night and day difference. i have tried both and compared. squeezes inbuilt dac sound is not really hi-fi at all.

changing cables at this stage is like putting a bandaid on broken arm.

 

[John Duncan]

The duet has a Wolfson DAC, which I've heard is a lot beter than the Burr-Brown in the Classic, which was why I thought it would be sufficient. The 601s, on the other hand, can be bettered. that's all I'm saying...

 

[method man]

john, you give the best, most well informed answers to all queries on here. my post was a bit vague and your ideas were in no way dismissed. but one person had said. if u like the sound dont change. clearly he doesnt or he wouldnt have posted. anothers post was change mains cables.

I have no doubt speakers would make a huge difference. but he does have what hi-fi award winners from the past. and i have the advantage of having a squeezebox duet and have tried it direct into the amp on my speakers and then the dac and its like chalk and cheese.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the responses so far. I`m heading towards either the dac magic or speakers...been looking at the KEF iq5se from richersounds £399. As soon as you start looking at speakers though it just goes on and on doesn`t it?

Can anyone add two more contendes to the KEF`s so I can start looking to audition if I do indeed opt for new speaker ?

John

 

[Anonymous]

So you really think it will be that obvious a difference method man? I was worried that its quite alot of money if I cant!?

John

 

[method man]

ah well. i should have made it more clear. the dacmagic is small and light. u can buy from richer sounds and if it doesnt make a good difference you can take it back after having tried it for a few days. if u dont mind lugging at least one thing maybe two back. buy the kefs and dacmagic and try them both at home. seperately, together , anything u like.

u will want a toslink/optical cable for the duet to dac for best performance, if you dont already have one.

 

[JoelSim]

Get the DAC first and then buy some proper speakers, no dilly-dallying with £400. Speakers that are good are twice that.

ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

I see what you mean joelslim but my amp cost me £140 s/h and the speakers were less so if i spent say £800 on a speaker then surely i`d have to upgrade the amp too!? I dont mind heading down the slippery slope but that seems like a big jump to me?

I was lucky buying my first hifi kit s/h blind and getting good results but i think for this upgrade i will buy new so i can have a listen first.....

cheers

John

 

[Anonymous]

When I read this my first thought was for you to go for a DAC.... and if I had the money right now it is the Beresford Caiman that I would be going for.

I do not know if other people on the forum find this... but I am better with certain types of equipment than I am with others.... my weak spot is with speakers... I run a pair of Mission M64i's. I know that they are not up to the rest of my equipment. I got them for a few reasons:

i) they were the larger brother to the 5 star M33i's (does not always work that that is a good thing)

ii) they were £400+ new and I got mine (seconds) for £179.

I cast about with the money that I had to get the best bargain to fit the system. Demo-ing did not come into it. Since then I have not had any money to do justice to the speakers, indeed from one day to the next I have not had the money to justify wasting a dealers time demo-ing stuff to me....

The impression that I get with speakers is that if you want to push up from good bottom end into something that is good good... well you need to go above £600 and head towards the £1000 mark... (I know that a staffer will come and blow me out of the water, but that is my impression).

If I were you and I had £500-£600....

i) £220 (or there abouts) on the Beresford Caiman - LINK

ii) £300 on a decent pair of secondhand speakers from the Fleabay - I went to find a pair... but speakers are my weak point

 

[Anonymous]

Hi all just a quick update and a thankyou for the advice...

I had a look on here yesterday and found a link to some Rega R3`s for £350.00 so have ordered a pair in piano black. a friend is buying my B & W 601`s for £100 so am happy with the figures!

Also leaves me enough to get the dacmagic but i`m going to wait until i`ve heard the the new Rega`s until i order.

Do you think the Rega`s will be an improvement over the B & W`s?

Kind regards,

John

 

[JoelSim]

mahone1978:
Hi all just a quick update and a thankyou for the advice...

I had a look on here yesterday and found a link to some Rega R3`s for £350.00 so have ordered a pair in piano black. a friend is buying my B & W 601`s for £100 so am happy with the figures!

Also leaves me enough to get the dacmagic but i`m going to wait until i`ve heard the the new Rega`s until i order.

Do you think the Rega`s will be an improvement over the B & W`s?

Kind regards,

John

Yes, and especially when you become accustomed to the sound.