Right decided on my gear. Which first?

[True Blue]

Am upgrading a 15 yr old Kenwood seperates system. CD no optical out. Tannoy Mercury M2 speakers.

Have decided for various reasons to go with the following

1. B&W 685 standmounts

2. Super Dreadnought stands

3. Roksan Kandy K2 amp

4. NAD C545 BEE CD Player

5. Atacama Equipment rack

6. Atlas Equator Interconnects

When is all set up maybe an external DAC

Cant decide in which order to purchase (due to funds) want to "hear" every upgrade. This one I think will take me all year to build. So which one first??

 

[Anonymous]

Equipment racks are an absolute waste of time, they don't enhance the quality of anything, all you need in that respect is a hi fi rack, which you can buy quite cheaply from tesco, from superfi etc. I have one, rigid sturdy, strong, looks asthetically pleasing, leaves plenty of space between the component and the shelf above it, (always good for ventilation) and was bought for less than 50.00. Please do not be suckered in by promises of better dynamics and more open sound through of all things a rack. That being said I think it's been mentioned that those stands are needed for the 685's because of their weight and size, I would recommend purchasing the stands and the 685's first but please demo first as they might not be to your tastes, take the cd player and amp with you when you do.

I think in terms of importance the list in order is speakers, amp, source. However by bypassing needless costly equipment racks you will purchase the other things you need much quicker. Furthermore I owned a NAD C352 and have heard the Kandy K2 also, granted the K2 is the better sounding amp but the difference between the two is certainly not vast. Therefore you might want to consider amps like the Creek Evo, NAD C352 and Marantz PM 7001 KI also.

 

[Anonymous]

You seem set so this is the order I'd do it in:

1.

3.ÿ

6.

4.

2.

5.ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

The M2s are good speakers, so I'd do:

3. Amplifier

4. CD Player

1 & 2 Speakers/stands

Ikea, whether by accident or design, make a good equipment stand called the Eina. It's cheap, and, if you check on the web, highly regarded.

 

[True Blue]

Octopo:
You seem set so this is the order I'd do it in:

1.

3.

6.

4.

2.

5.

Octopo, with the above system, would you include any different componants?

 

[Anonymous]

I think that should all go together quite splendidly. If you were to up your budget I'd be looking at better speakers but the 685s will be fine.

 

[JoelSim]

hi fi newbie:
Equipment racks are an absolute waste of time, they don't enhance the quality of anything, all you need in that respect is a hi fi rack, which you can buy quite cheaply from tesco, from superfi etc. I have one, rigid sturdy, strong, looks asthetically pleasing, leaves plenty of space between the component and the shelf above it, (always good for ventilation)ÿ and was bought for less than 50.00. Please do not be suckered in by promises of better dynamics and more open sound through of all things a rack. That being said I think it's been mentioned that those stands are needed for the 685's because of their weight and size, I would recommend purchasing the stands and the 685's first but please demo first as they might not be to your tastes, take the cd player and amp with you when you do.

I think in terms of importance the list in order is speakers, amp, source. However by bypassing needless costly equipment racks you will purchase the other things you need much quicker. Furthermore I owned a NAD C352 and have heard the Kandy K2 also, granted the K2 is the better sounding amp but the difference between the two is certainly not vast. Therefore you might want to consider amps like the Creek Evo, NAD C352 and Marantz PM 7001 KI also.ÿ

I couldn't disagree more about the rack comment you've made. I suppose you also don't see the point of mains cables, interconnects and speaker cables either.

When I put my rack in, I sat there open-mouthed for about 3 hours at the difference it made.

ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

Different strokes, but your assumption is incorrect my friend (partly at least) i don't see the point of mains cables unless you have an issue with poor electricity supply and yep I have tested them and sure enough it made no difference. However on the issue of interconnects and speaker cables yes there is a difference on many it's only a small difference unless you are willing to pay a lot more.

However on the equipment racks,....the dealer always sets up the components on pricey racks and I never hear an audible difference. That being said if you do, then I am not contesting you are wrong but merely we shall have to agree to disagree

 

[idc]

I would go.............

1 Speakers

2 CD

3 Amp - now the system is 90%+ there so time to tweek

4 Interconnects

5 Speaker stands (with Blue tack between speaker and stand)

6 Equipment stand (and be prepared for quite a shock as to what a difference this will make, especially with a decent one form the likes of Atacama.)

I had a very solid Target stand with a metal frame and wooden shelves and it opened the sound up and tightened the bass.

 

[JoelSim]

hi fi newbie:
ÿ

Different strokes, but your assumption is incorrect my friend (partly at least) i don't see the point of mains cables unless you have an issue with poor electricity supply and yep I have tested them and sure enough it made no difference. However on the issue of interconnects and speaker cables yes there is a difference on many it's only a small difference unless you are willing to pay a lot more.

However on the equipment racks,....the dealer always sets up the components on pricey racks and I never hear an audible difference. That being said if you do, then I am not contesting you are wrong but merely we shall have to agree to disagreeÿ

I have heard it with my own ears on an oak rack made to order by hifiracks.co.uk. Not only does it fit my equipment perfectly, it made a massive difference in clarity, bass was much taughter and well defined to the degree that I heard a bassline on an album that I'd never heard, not bad considering I'd bought that particular album in about 1990 and listened to literally hundreds and hundreds of times. That's why I sat there open mouthed. Oh and the rack was £285 delivered, so not excessively expensive.

ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

Well all I was saying was it's not necessary but it's all to the good if it improved things for you.

 

[idc]

A stand works best once the rest of the system is sorted, its the icing on the cake. I agree with the point that mains cables make little or no difference if the mains are fine in the first place, but a decent stand, the aim of which is to reduce the most minor vibrations within the system and to help with ventilation, should work with all kit. With that in mind, I think wood makes the best shelves rather than glass as it has better damping and heat dispersion properties...................oh I have just heard a can of worms being opened!

 

[plastic penguin]

hi fi newbie:

Well all I was saying was it's not necessary but it's all to the good if it improved things for you.

I agree with Joel - when I had my old hi-fi unit from MFI it sounded fine. When I bought a Stands Unique stacking supports, the sound improved; added transparancy increased and it just sounded more open and airy.

 

[Anonymous]

I have my amp and DAC on an Ikea unit. Needless to say it sounds cheap and hollow.

 

[Anonymous]

Which DAC?

 

[Anonymous]

(I was kidding...) but it's a Benchmark DAC-1.

 

[Anonymous]

Damn! You just ruined my line.

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry. Can we hear it anyway?

 

[Anonymous]

Sadly no, the moment's passed. But you have a terrific DAC there, lucky you.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks. It doesn't sound as good as my headphones through a Beresford and a headphone amp though.