Time for an upgrade ?

[admin_exported]

Hi

I just signed up, first post. I'm hoping to get a few opinions of possible.

I purchased many, many moons ago a NAD 7020i with a set of Mission 700 speakers and they have given me no grief whatsoever.

However, my way of listening to music has changed. I, like many of you I suspect, don't listen to tapes or even CD's anymore. I stream all my music via iTunes or Slacker or Spotify.

I recently purchased a Sonos 3 and put it in the kitchen. Now I don't know enough about audio to say if it's because of where the Sonos is placed or how it is placed or if it's simply a superior product, but the sound that comes out of that thing is very impressive to me and my girlfriend. It beats the pants off my NAD/Missions.

So this morning I promptly ran out and picked up a Sonos Connect to plug into my NAD. Now again, the NAD and Missions are in the living room but the sound to my ears is still better out of the Play 3 then out of the NAD/Missions. Both the NAD and the Missions are a good 20-25 years old.

I used to follow the Audiophile world fairly closely but I haven't at all in 20 or so years. I'm a little out of what is considered good these days. I have read an awful lot on the AudioEngine's A5 for instance..

What would you say is the weakest link in my setup ? I assume the speakers. Any suggestions on a speaker set or would I also be better off putting to rest the NAD and the Missions ?

The speakers need to fill a room say 7 meters by 4 meters give or take.. My budget is say $500-800USD

I listen to a lot of Alternative music and my girlfriend loves the boom-tiss of Dance and Pop..

Thanks so much, I hope it isn't bad form to start off with a question like this. If so, I apologize.

J

 

[kevinJ]

If your electronics are that old, you might want to get them serviced before you buy anything new. A few components inside the amp will need to be replaced just because of that age.

 

[shafesk]

Hey Shampoo, welcome to the forums. I'll come straight out....your speakers/amps are almost as old as me so I have no idea how they sound. That being said, I reckon you are better off buying a new system especially if the system hasn't been played for long...getting the amp/speakers up to new condition can be expensive. I think a marantz PM6004 coupled with Tannoy v4 should do the trick...converting from pounds to dollars I believe it will come in just a hair under 800 us if the prices are the same.

 

[amcluesent]

Can you get a loan of a Sonos SUB to try along with the CONNECT you already have?

Also, you can try a replacing the foam rings on the 700's woofers, after this many years they're likely not helping.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi amcluesent

So your thinking is just add the Sonos Sub and keep the rest as is with maybe getting the foam rings replaced ?

I took things a little more seriously this weekend and the Missions were maybe 18 inches off the ground and moved them to atop two different desks.. When sitting in front of them, the sound is quite good.. It really improved things considerably to the point where I'd argue it's better sounding then my Player 3..

I am going to see if I can't get the Sonos Sub on loan somehow. They have a 45 day return policy.. I could try that.

Thanks for the replies so far. I really appreciate it.

All the best from Canada. ;-)

J

 

[Blackdawn]

The original Mission 700's with the 8 inch drivers were very good budget speakers, these had nicer cabinets than the latter 700 models. Yes, putting them on proper HiFi stands would help a lot. It should be obvious whether they need re-foaming or not by taking the grills off. My dad is still using these speakers with NAD 3020A but instead of re-foaming had the LF drivers changed to AR drivers. Also you could try cleaning the connections on amp/ source and cables. The 700's were not monitor speakers but need quite a bit of space to sound their best. Try listening to them from further back in the room and best not to put them too close to the side walls. You could probably do with getting the NAD serviced. Hope this helps.

Also to allow the NAD/Missions to sound there best use the highest quality files via iTunes. You could think of getting a decent offboard DAC or something like the Asus Xonar for your PC.