Streamer or amp upgrade

[bartlett23]

Evening all. Thinking of upgrading my Cambridge Audio MXN10 to the new Audiolab 9000N. I have an Arcam A15 (which What Hi-Fi pairs with the Audiolab in a recent system recommendation). I have Spendor speakers which are amazing, so where’s money best spent in a system upgrade?

 

[Fandango Andy]

Evening all. Thinking of upgrading my Cambridge Audio MXN10 to the new Audiolab 9000N. I have an Arcam A15 (which What Hi-Fi pairs with the Audiolab in a recent system recommendation). I have Spendor speakers which are amazing, so where’s money best spent in a system upgrade?

Same question as any upgrade, what are you hoping to achieve?

 

[bartlett23]

The same reason as most upgrades. Better sound quality…

 

[Fandango Andy]

The same reason as most upgrades. Better sound quality…

The simple answer is your amp is better than your streamer, so if you want better sound you upgrade the streamer. Is a streamer at more than double the price of your amp overkill? What can you get for around £1,000?

Having said that your speakers and your room will have the greatest impact on your sound. Spendor are a great brand, but you don't say what speakers you have. Are they better, or not as good as your amp?

But this is where you get to the real question, in what way do you want to improve your sound?

 

[Witterings]

The upgrade I've just done that's had most effect is adding a Chord Qutest and a Bluesound Nano using it's USB out.

Prior to this I was using a Wiim Pro coax out into my Arcam SA30 and my recent change has been a big improvement, might be worth a try but make sure you get things with e reasonable return window.

 

[bartlett23]

The upgrade I've just done that's had most effect is adding a Chord Qutest and a Bluesound Nano using it's USB out.

Prior to this I was using a Wiim Pro coax out into my Arcam SA30 and my recent change has been a big improvement, might be worth a try but make sure you get things with e reasonable return window.

Interesting suggestion! But I'm not sure I'm savvy enough to get my head round this...

 

[bartlett23]

The simple answer is your amp is better than your streamer, so if you want better sound you upgrade the streamer. Is a streamer at more than double the price of your amp overkill? What can you get for around £1,000?

Having said that your speakers and your room will have the greatest impact on your sound. Spendor are a great brand, but you don't say what speakers you have. Are they better, or not as good as your amp?

But this is where you get to the real question, in what way do you want to improve your sound?

All good questions! Spendor 4/5 Classic. No room for anything beefier. Would like a greater sense of scale and separation, and a little bit more low end welly. The MXN10 is great, but can't help but think it's not doing the rest of system justice. Perhaps the CA EXN100 is more price appropriate (but the Audiolab looks awesome).

 

[Fandango Andy]

All good questions! Spendor 4/5 Classic. No room for anything beefier. Would like a greater sense of scale and separation, and a little bit more low end welly. The MXN10 is great, but can't help but think it's not doing the rest of system justice. Perhaps the CA EXN100 is more price appropriate (but the Audiolab looks awesome).

You have small speakers that take some driving. Have you considered taking some of the strain off them and adding an active sub?

 

[bartlett23]

You have small speakers that take some driving. Have you considered taking some of the strain off them and adding an active sub?

i have considered it, yeah. would love to hear the difference it could make. any recommendations? the smaller the better, but WHF don't seem to review them very often.

 

[skinnypuppy71]

i have considered it, yeah. would love to hear the difference it could make. any recommendations? the smaller the better, but WHF don't seem to review them very often.

Rel t-zero mkii or iii

 

[bartlett23]

Rel t-zero mkii or iii

they look cool, cheers.

 

[Jasonovich]

i have considered it, yeah. would love to hear the difference it could make. any recommendations? the smaller the better, but WHF don't seem to review them very often.

No need to wait for WHF
Obviously on a high budget, aim for the REL's and SVS

On a sensible budget, the Dali-F9's pack a punch but if you want something smaller and cheaper (8", £300), you can't fault the Velodyne SPL Series 2 Subwoofer.

I have both, so a little bias here. There's a lot out there from Q-Acoustic, KEF, Focal, B&W, Monitor Audio etc and if you must have a bargain, can't go wrong with the Wharfedale SW.

My personal favourite is the SW I keep in the Study, Focal Sub One Active dual Subwoofer but this is more orientated for professional setup, XLR and TRS connections. I would love to have used that in my AV setup in the lounge and move the Dali to the study. With some creativity with the connections I can make it work but it's a monster and the missus will kill me. Apologies for drifting away from my opening statement

@Fandango Andy suggestion of a SW is a good idea and extending the low frequencies can be achieved at very little costs. Certainly worth thinking about.

 

[Witterings]

BK Electronics are excellent!!!!!

 

[nopiano]

What size room are you listening in?

When I read “Would like a greater sense of scale and separation, and a little bit more low end welly.” I tend to think of amplifiers yielding that.

Do you have access to any other sources, because it might be informative to hear, say, a CD player versus your streamer. Or maybe a dealer can let you try a fancier streamer at home?

For context, I recently tried a Wiim Pro Plus streamer instead of my Linn DSM and there wasn’t a whole lot in it.