Sell the lot and start again?

[admin_exported]

Had my set up below for a while and considering selling up and starting over as i still haven't found the highly musical and engaging sound i'm after - whilst I love the detail I get from my system it can be a bit cold and clinical.  Contemplating selling the lot on ebay and spending what I get plus another £2-3k in search of something appreciably better.  Do folk think I could get a noticeable improvement with this drastic course of action?  What would people recommend as a replacement system?  Would a more targeted upgrade of specific components be a smarter move?

CD - Musical Fidelity Nu Vista 3D CD, Pre Amp - Musical Fidelity A3 CR Pre-Amp, Power Amp - Musical Fidelity A300 CR Power Amp,  Speakers - Monitor Audio Studio 20 SE, Speaker Cable - QED Silver Anniversary Bi Wire, Interconnects - Van den Hul 102 Mk 3.   

Any help much appreciated! 

 

 

[the record spot]

What aspect of your current set-up is causing you dissatisfaction? Usually it comes down to something very specific that could be addressed by changing anything from an interconnect to a new source, amp or speakers.

Rather than ditch everything, I'd maybe try to decide what you want from your music and what your current set-up isn't giving you to get you there.

 

[Anonymous]

Good call Record Spot!

I have just upgraded my speaker wire and wow what a transition, CD's now sound appreciatively brighter and give a more involving musical listen than ever before

 

[JoelSim]

dazzer1966:

Had my set up below for a while and considering selling up and starting over as i still haven't found the highly musical and engaging sound i'm after - whilst I love the detail I get from my system it can be a bit cold and clinical. Contemplating selling the lot on ebay and spending what I get plus another £2-3k in search of something appreciably better. Do folk think I could get a noticeable improvement with this drastic course of action? What would people recommend as a replacement system? Would a more targeted upgrade of specific components be a smarter move?

CD - Musical Fidelity Nu Vista 3D CD, Pre Amp - Musical Fidelity A3 CR Pre-Amp, Power Amp - Musical Fidelity A300 CR Power Amp, Speakers - Monitor Audio Studio 20 SE, Speaker Cable - QED Silver Anniversary Bi Wire, Interconnects - Van den Hul 102 Mk 3.

Any help much appreciated!

I would take your kit into a dealer and listen to a few pairs of new speakers with it. Think ProAc, PMC, Spendor, Neat and you won't go too far wrong.

At least then you will be able to see whether it's a speaker thing or whether you do in fact have to upgrade the whole shebang

 

[d_a_n1979]

Have you thought about upgrading the interconnects and speaker cable; i feel that the QED speaker cable could be a weak link; more so with M/A speakers as they can be forward sounding as well!

 

[Big Chris]

I'm with Joel. Start with speakers first. This will not only be a whole lot cheaper than starting from scratch, but speakers are the most variable part of a Hi-Fi. I'd be surprised if you couldn't find a pair of great speakers that'd rock your world.

 

[Anonymous]

Having those pieces of kit I wouldn't blame your electronics for that cold and clinical sound... IMHO I don't think that's the kind of sound MF delivers.... You're going to have to spend a lot of money to buy higher quality components if you want to improve the sound that you have now. Your electronics are great!!!

Speaker change = change in sound. And you can end fine-tuning the sound with the speaker cables and interconnects...

So I think you should use your money in higher quality speakers and, at the end, you'll have saved a lot of money...

 

[Thaiman]

Nu-Vista 3D was pretty good in it's day (somehow end up sounding rather similar to the cheaper X-ray V3 though!). The A3 pre/A300 power should withstood time well and eventually will become a classic imo (the power amp more so than the pre). The studio 20 SE are already classic!

and you know what....I own the very system before! (a bit spooky) and that include cables.

The lot will fetch around £2K on Ebay (sell them seperately) and £700 less if you take them to 2nd hand hifi dealer.

Let say you going down ebay route and got £2K plus another £3 that you willing to put in, I can name at least 3 different £5K system, new, that will sound better than your current system....do it if you have the cash

 

[drummerman]

dazzer1966:
Had my set up below for a while and considering selling up and starting over as i still haven't found the highly musical and engaging sound i'm after - whilst I love the detail I get from my system it can be a bit cold and clinical. Contemplating selling the lot on ebay and spending what I get plus another £2-3k in search of something appreciably better. Do folk think I could get a noticeable improvement with this drastic course of action? What would people recommend as a replacement system? Would a more targeted upgrade of specific components be a smarter move?

CD - Musical Fidelity Nu Vista 3D CD, Pre Amp - Musical Fidelity A3 CR Pre-Amp, Power Amp - Musical Fidelity A300 CR Power Amp, Speakers - Monitor Audio Studio 20 SE, Speaker Cable - QED Silver Anniversary Bi Wire, Interconnects - Van den Hul 102 Mk 3.

Any help much appreciated!

Tricky. I'd be inclined to get rid of the lot and start from scratch. It's fun and you seem to have the resources. I assume you have tried, chopped and changed for a while without quite getting there. There's a world of hifi out there, some of which will suit you.

 

[Anonymous]

Some great advice, i'll see if i can get a few speakers on loan to see if that does the job - any specific recommendations? ÿAlso someone pointed to the speaker cable is a being a potential weak link - again, any recommendations to replace to open up the sound a bit more, add a touch of warmth and get my foot tapping? ÿThaiman - what would those 3 new systems be? ÿThanks all so far.

ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

In addition to what's mentioned, I'd listen to some Italian speakers like the Operas, Charios and Sonus Fabers. They're all highly musical, though they'd be wasted if you listen exclusively to heavy metal. B&W also do some lovely speakers at the middle and upper end of their ranges.

 

[John Duncan]

Second the SFs. And I would tend to stick with the electronics, certainly, but as TM says, if you have 5k sloshing around......

 

[matthewpiano]

A complete re-build could be fun and would give you the option to spend time auditioning until you get the sound exactly right.

Short of doing this I'd start by slinging that awful speaker cable. I can't stand Silver Anniversary. Its bright, clinical and lacking in involvement. I used it for a while and hated it. I find Chord Company cables much better than QED.

 

[JoelSim]

Ha ha, you see I really like the QED, very detailed but suits my components well. Probably not always the case. I would imagine that you're issue is far more than a cable issue though.

ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

Firstly, audition some other systems to see if their sound approaches what you like. Then consider substituting a component to make a step forward, probably the speakers. It can be very tempting to flog the lot and start again, but unless you have a specific system in mind it's not a good idea.