most recent upgrade ?

[unknown]

what item did you last upgrade, source, amplifier or speakers ?

what was the cost of the upgrade item, how much was the cost of the item it replaced and what / how much difference did it make

to the sound of your system ?

thanks in advance for all input !

 

[mmichbam]

My most recent upgrade was to upgrade from a Marantz CD63KI Mk2 to an Arcam CD192.

I bought the marantz off eBay for £97 and sold it for the same, the Arcam was brought used from Home Media Limited in Kent for £220 in October which I thought was a bargin.

i improvement I thought was huge, much more detail but smoother and easier to listen to.

 

[wilro15]

Upgraded from Kef Q500 to Kef LS50, made a big difference in quality! Only thing is I am now looking to upgrade my amp too!

 

[the record spot]

Marantz UD7007. The jury's out on CD playback though.

 

[danrv]

Replaced Rotel RA-01 (£195 S/H) and Cambridge Audio Azur 640C (£249 new) with Roksan Kandy K2 amp and CDP ( £1440 new).

Big improvement in sound quality through my Dali Lektor 2 speakers. Smoother, more bass, better imaging and generally more body to the sound.

 

[FennerMachine]

Last component upgrade was source.

Quad CD 67. Cost under £320. It wasn't a replacement as my other CD source is my 751BD which I still own and use.

Sound different to 751BD. Not as 'detailed' but more natural sounding.

Even more of a difference after using tape inputs instead of CD input.

The CD input is 300mv, tape input set to 775mv. For some reason this sounds better.

 

[manicm]

Marantz UD7007. The jury's out on CD playback though.

Compared to your previous CD players or in general? How do you find it generally?

 

[stevebrock]

Rega Aria phono stage

Massive improvement in vocals over the Elicit R built in phono

 

[bigfish786]

Rega apollo, bought used for £180. it took over cd duties from my Arcam dv79, which i thought sounded a bit clinical and unnatural. the dv88 i had previously sounded much better. its a bit of a bargain if you can find one.

the difference is staggering. i really do wish i'd bought a Rega cd player a long time ago.

 

[steve_1979]

My last upgrade was 3 years ago. A Yamaha RX-V667 amplifier and Q Acoustics 1010i 5.1 speakers were upgraded to AVI Neutron 2.1 system.

Apart from losing the surround sound effects, to say that the improvement in every aspect of the sound quality was a genune night and day difference really is true in this case.

:dance:

 

[unknown]

thanks for all replies so far lads !

 

[CnoEvil]

Kef LS50s.

They didn't replace anything, in fact it wasn't my intention to buy them at all......so let me explain -

I wanted to stop using my Class A amp to cover the L&R of my AV system, which meant separating my AV and 2 channel systems ie. buying some speakers.

I wanted to do this by spending as little as was practical, which meant R100s. I went to the dealer and tried them, and indeed they were very good, but I thought I would also try the LS50s. IMO. The difference in SQ far outweighed the price difference.

Before I shelled out the difference, I went for another long session, but this time brought Mrs.Cno, to see if she agreed.....when she heard the two speakers, she was even more emphatic than me, so I ended up with the LS50s.

They have proved so successful playing 2 channel on the end of my Arcam AVR600, that I do more listening this way than I had expected. The Class A two channel system is now only used for dedicated, no holes barred, music sessions.

I have the choice of Stereo Direct, or Stereo + Sub that has been EQed.......the one I pick depends on the recording.

 

[Helmut80]

Speakers.

In: Sonus Faber Elipsa SE.

Out: SF Liuto Towers.

Difference? Night and day, instruments have come alive, it's as if the musicians are in the room etc etc

 

[the record spot]

Marantz UD7007. The jury's out on CD playback though.

Compared to your previous CD players or in general? How do you find it generally?

Well, having said what I said earlier, I followed my own advice and shifted things around. I moved the Tannoys around a little. A bit closer to the wall, repositioned the toe-in on the right hand speaker and moved the left speaker over a little.

Result is a bigger and more natural or lifelike sound in the end. There's more detail, but in the wrong place (through positioning the speakers) it'd be too neutral. Get the setup right and it's very impressive.

I should be clear that this is purely with CD. And now that I've fixed the positioning, it's no longer an issue. WIth SACD, DVD-A, Blu-ray, it's one of the best audio experiences I've had with a modest setup.

Eric Clapton's Unplugged album is breathtaking. It's an all digital recording and that kind of thing usually sets audiophiles' teeth on edge. I've personally never had an issue with it, not since Peter Gabriel's fourth album in 1982 went the same route. I love the Clapton album though. Take your pick of the tracks, but for me, Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out (make sure you hear Bessie Smith's version of the same), Alberta, San Francisco Bay Blues and Malted Milk are the standout ones. The additional insight in to the recording doesn't result in a glassy detail that's hard to listen to, but with the right setup, puts Clapton outside the speakers and as near to in the room as I've known.

Early days yet, but it's not all glowing stuff. Buid quality is good but not brilliant. For the price, I'd like greater rigidity. My SA7001-KI CDP by the same company is a brick by comparison. The AVI player is somewhere between the 7001-KI and the UD7007. It doesn't feel flimsy, but it could be heavier. Such is life at this price range. The budget went into the technology. The casing didn't come as high up the ladder!

Another quirk is that although the UD7007 is a universal player (albeit no HDCD), it failed to recognise my SACD only "The Stranger" album by Billy Joel. Oops! Methinks an email to Marantz service is in order here. This should be a gimme. In fairness, there arent too many SACD only discs kicking around, but.......it does play without a hitch on the 7001-KI. Which is five years older. Go figure, as the Americans say.

That's pretty much it for now. Still getting used to it, and I'm tempted by new speakers as that's the next logical upgrade. Fair to say though, the 7007 is a keeper.

 

[Electro]

My most recent upgrade was three years ago and I upgraded from PMC OB1 to PB1i speakers .

The OB1's were fantastic speakers and I was really just looking for more of the same by upgrading to the PB1i's but when I got them home and tried them the difference was enormous , the amount of extra power , dynamics and scale they gave was much more than I was expecting but they also increased the amount of delicacy and detail that I was used too as well , the overall sound took a massive step towards reproducing real live sounding music .

The PBIi's also allowed me to hear just how good the rest of my system is

A comparative picture .

 

[unknown]

anybody else ?

has moving up to the next level of a component given a big upgrade like what electro got with his speakers ?

thanks again

 

[matt49]

What about you, Mike?

 

[Pistol Pete1]

My latest upgrade was actually a 'downgrade' due to a change in circumstances.

With a 6 month old daughter in the house, I was becoming increasingly concerned for the safety of her and my KEF Q500 floorstanding speakers that move quiet easily on the granite slabs underneath them.

So I have boxed them up and stored them safely, and purchased a second hand mint pair of KEF Q100's for around £225. These will be wall mounted at the front in the near future, and once my daughter is bigger/older, the Q500's will return and the Q100's will move to the back (space permitting).

Even though it's seen as a downgrade, I was pleasantly surprised by these 'small' bookshelf speakers. Generally speaking I always buy floorstanders (Tannoy DC2000, Q Acoustics 1030i, KEF Q500), with the one exception of a pair of Q Acoustics 1010i which didn't impress me much. But these speakers sound very good indeed. Clear, controlled and the depth of bass is quite surprising considering their size.

Life is about compromises when you have a young family, but the KEF Q100's have been a good experience so far..... :cheers:

 

[DocG]

My most recent upgrade was the Devialet 110 replacing a 20+ year old Yamaha stereo receiver (*).

The difference is, well, if not quite night and day, then certainly dusk and day , even when fed by a Sonos Connect and driving my also 20+ year old Mission 760SE speakers.

EDIT: (*) the Yamaha RX-460 to be exact, as pictured here in the 'Radio Museum'.

 

[unknown]

hello matt49. my system consists of a musical fidelity x ray cd player, the matching xa2 amp plus b&w 601 s2 speakers purchased back in 2001.

(i have not purchased any hifi hardware since hence have not set foot in a hi fi shop since then either ! )

as both my cd player and amp are worth very little 2nd hand and as i'm not interested in selling them and buying new hardware that may sound different but not better, i recently had both units fine tuned via js audio repairs.

the sonic improvement gained is that my system sounds so much clearer, more musical and less artificial sounding. cds with vocals on sound much more life like. as stated i have no plans to change cd or amp hence next upgrade option now is the speakers. having contacted b&w they reccommend the cm5 at £800 as the real upgrade to my £200 (underpriced, i think any way.........) 601 s2. i would also consider the kef ls 50 (followed all the recent post regarding those) plus any other speakers around the £800 mark. currently though, i'm that pleased with the new lease of life that the js audio tweaks have made to my system that it could be another 12 years before i mess with system again !

 

[Covenanter]

Kef LS50s.

They didn't replace anything, in fact it wasn't my intention to buy them at all......so let me explain -

I wanted to stop using my Class A amp to cover the L&R of my AV system, which meant separating my AV and 2 channel systems ie. buying some speakers.

I wanted to do this by spending as little as was practical, which meant R100s. I went to the dealer and tried them, and indeed they were very good, but I thought I would also try the LS50s. IMO. The difference in SQ far outweighed the price difference.

Before I shelled out the difference, I went for another long session, but this time brought Mrs.Cno, to see if she agreed.....when she heard the two speakers, she was even more emphatic than me, so I ended up with the LS50s.

They have proved so successful playing 2 channel on the end of my Arcam AVR600, that I do more listening this way than I had expected. The Class A two channel system is now only used for dedicated, no holes barred, music sessions.

I have the choice of Stereo Direct, or Stereo + Sub that has been EQed.......the one I pick depends on the recording.

I think you will find that the saying is "no holds barred". :rofl:

I know what old Sigmund would say.

Chris

 

[tonky]

What cno does in private to enhance his hi fi experience is no concern of ours!

 

[Native_bon]

I had demo of ARCAM AVR750 & 450 & kefs Ls 50's. Ls50.s very impresive. I ended up taking the Arcam 450 home with me. Thought the 750 was a bit on the expensive side. So far cannot fault the avr450. Dnt see any reason for me getting a 2 channel amp with all the added avantage of an AV amp. The AVr750 has class A with the first 40watts but not much between it and the 450.

Dynamics detail and warmth in abundance. loving it right now.:dance:

 

[relocated]

My last upgrade was getting on for a year ago now. I went from the £1075 AVI ADM 9T stand-mounts to the £3250 AVI ADM 40 floor-standers.

Night and day difference? Not at all, but they are an improvement and I infinitely prefer the look of a floor-stander. My wife has the 9Ts now and I am still amazed at how good they are for the price, especially as you only need to add a source.

:cheers:

 

[CnoEvil]

What cno does in private to enhance his hi fi experience is no concern of ours!

Freudian slip, shall we say.