System Upgrade Suggestions

[gingerburn]

Hi All

I'm thinking of upgrading my system, and would like some advice on where my money would be best spent. I currently have:

• Sonos ZP90, playing FLAC files off a NAS
• Denon PMA250SE amp
• Tannoy Mercury M2.5 speakers

Assuming I have about £500 to spend, where would my money make the most difference? I've thought about adding an external DAC (Arcam rdac or similar), but I don't know if the difference wouldn't be more pronounced with a new amp or speakers.

Thanks very much indeed.

Will

 

[Blackdawn]

Hi,

I have the same amp as you and am running it with new speakers. The sound is good to me and I really like the amp. It has plenty of power for a small - medium room and is a great budget amp with a natural sound. In the end the decision will depend on which speakers you upgrade to. For example, the only reason the Denon is still fine for my system is that the Klipsch speakers are pretty sensitive so don't need masses of power. The amp can also power the Lektor 2 speakers fine to normal vol. levels. If you were to go for some new speakers which were much harder to drive than your Tannoys you would probably need to replace the amp as well. But this will depend on your room size and requirements.

I think I would get some new speakers first and then upgrade the amp accordingly depending on power requirements. Alternatively, I would go for a new Dac such as the Arcam or Dacmagic.

Do you have speaker stands? If not maybe money could be spent here.

 

[Anonymous]

Get an external DAC , DAC Magic or the Arcam DAC will make it a whole different experience.

 

[the record spot]

The amp or the speakers (or split the difference and buy both). They're arguably the limiting factors in this set-up. The Denon was good in its day, as were the speakers, but you can probably achieve better for your money now. Q Acoustics 2020s and the Yamaha AS500 might be a good combination, but there's plenty out there that'll come in on your budget.