I'm just starting to dip my toe into higher end hi-fi (not audiophile high-end on my budget!). I was originally running a pair of Mission Cyrus 781 (now destined for a well known auction site) driven by a vintage Pioneer SA-608 (40W per channel) with Cambridge Audio DAC-100 as the source. I am using a 100% digital setup with all my music being ripped to lossless and played via JRiver Media Center (linux) which is great for playing my expanding collection of SACD ISOs.
So I went and picked up a nice pair of B&W CDM7NTs and have been impressed with the change but part of me is a little disappointed with the overall sound. There's plenty of bass and top end but I'm finding the mids a little uninspiring at times. If I play something that I know is going to sound good, like Tracy Chapman's first album, it sounds good. But play something a bit more lively I am finding the vocals and mids are almost a bit flat sounding and disappear into the rest of the music.
It was my plan to upgrade the DAC & Amp and I have my eye on the NAIM DAC-V1 with the NAP200 or 250 power amp. This is obviously going to set me back a lot of money and I am concerned I am not going to hear £2k worth of improvement.
I am after a little guidance on this as I would be gutted to spend the money and not be in love with my system. Would speaker re-positioning help with the mids? There is an EQ feature built into JRiver that I could play with me but the hifi snob in me thinks decent equipment shouldn't need any assitance.
So I went and picked up a nice pair of B&W CDM7NTs and have been impressed with the change but part of me is a little disappointed with the overall sound. There's plenty of bass and top end but I'm finding the mids a little uninspiring at times. If I play something that I know is going to sound good, like Tracy Chapman's first album, it sounds good. But play something a bit more lively I am finding the vocals and mids are almost a bit flat sounding and disappear into the rest of the music.
It was my plan to upgrade the DAC & Amp and I have my eye on the NAIM DAC-V1 with the NAP200 or 250 power amp. This is obviously going to set me back a lot of money and I am concerned I am not going to hear £2k worth of improvement.
I am after a little guidance on this as I would be gutted to spend the money and not be in love with my system. Would speaker re-positioning help with the mids? There is an EQ feature built into JRiver that I could play with me but the hifi snob in me thinks decent equipment shouldn't need any assitance.