Looking to upgrade Denon CEOL RCD-N7... Maybe....

[RobPollard]

Hi All,

I currently have a Denon CEOL RCD-N7 with a pair of Monitor Audio Bronze 2's and a Monitor Audio Radius R360HD SubWoofer (these make a big difference ).

I'm pretty happy with the sound, but I guess I'm looking for a little more top end sparkle.

I have around £1000 that I could use to upgrade the above system, but I don't really have a clue if the results would be worth it given that the above system already sounds pretty good.

My intent is to keep the speakers as I really like them.

So far I have been thinking of either going full on streaming with a Bluesound PowerNode 2, though I am deeply suspicuous that such a small unit could outperform the Denon? I guess I would need to go for some kind of sound test.

The other option is to go the descrete route, with a decentish amplifier and streamer? But for my kind of budget would this likely have an impact given my existing setup?

Thanks

RobP

 

[Snooker]

Just want to say that I have the Denon Ceol N8 and the sound quality is excellent to superb, and in three years time am going to upgrade the speakers from Dali Zensor 1's to the Dynaudio DM2/6's, which I have heard and they sound better than the Dali Zensor 1's

I don't know if you agree but the Denon Ceol is so very good that I am sure others on this forum with much more expensive gear would be surprised at just how good it is, just to let you know another member called chebby recently upgraded from his Marantz MCR603 all in one to a Quad Vena if that helps, maybe you could read some of his recent threads

 

[RobPollard]

Thanks, I'll search for that thread.

You are right about the CEOLs though, their sound is very impressive, provided you don't use the standard speakers they come with.

For me, the subwoofer made the biggest difference. It really adds weight to the sound and thanks to placement and tweaking it sounds like these bass sounds are comming straight from the Bronze 2 speakers! I still remember the first time I played Queen's 'Princes of the Universe' song. The intro where the guitar first cuts in, just floored me litterally - I ended up with an ear to ear grin that was very hard to remove

RobP