Upgrade question - Blank canvas

[Hifi_chap1984]

Good evening all, hope we are well

Just considering upgrading my system, its a random assortment indeed. We live in a semi detached place with fairly thin walls so Floorstanders are pronbably out of the question. I am ideally looking to make a purchase in the 2nd hand market perhaps spending up to £200, possibly £250 on one component. Tuner aside which I am not fussed about, would you change the CD player or speakers? Im guessing the amp is not the limiting factor as it is a lot more modern. Or would both the cd and speakers need changing to make any difference?

I have so far seen B&W 602s and Epos M12i around that price, but I am open to any suggestions at all. As I am sure you lot are the oracle compared to my knowledge which is just one 2002 magazine.

Cambridge Audio 640A Azur amp

The original Arcam Alpha CD player

Arcam Aplha 8 Tuner

KEF Cara

Cambridge Audio Pacific Connects

QED Silver Anniversary cables

 

[nopiano]

Mmm, a tricky one because secondhand speakers would presumably come without hearing, and therein lies the rub.

However, I'd definitely ditch the KEFs first and for £250 you could get some nice new QA2020i and stands, or DALI Zensor 1s, Monitor Audio BX2, etc. At least you'd get to hear them, and I'd need persuading that 'better' older speakers would not actually expose the CD player to some extent.

However, you may feel differently, but I'd caution against choosing at random or only on reputation. Nothing beats a proper demo, preferably at home.

Good luck, and welcome to the forum.

 

[Hifi_chap1984]

Thanks for the reply

Would 5/5 speakers costing around £600 still be that much better than 5/5 speakers costing £200 today?

Also if I were looking to upgrade the cd player to a modern device, how much would I need to spend to get something noticably better (to the untrained ear).

Finally if I were to have a plan to upgrade said player, would that change your answer to my first question?

 

[nopiano]

Not sure if you mean today's top rated speakers or those from a few years ago, but older and formerly pricier ones might well have more character and maybe more bass if they have bigger cabinets. Whether that is your taste or whether you'd prefer the greater precision and accuracy of a modern and modestly-sized speaker is really quite a personal thing. And a matter of space and domestic harmony, quite often!

A newer CDP, like the Marantz CD6005 (at £255 from Richer Sounds) will enable you to plug in an external device, which may be appealing, and I'd suggest will also sound cleaner. However, if your alpha still works reliably there is every reason to wear it out and spend the money on music instead.

Alternatively, you could buy a DAC to feed your alpha into (assuming it is the model I think it is, with a digital output), but that is another world where you can spend from £30 to thousands. Something which gives you scope to play music stored on computer may be a future-looking choice.

It is hard to gauge for any individual whether you just want a single improvement or are seeking an upgrade route over several years. Unless you know what you are getting, I think secondhand is great from a dealer when you can audition but caution is required from eBay and the like. I'd be interested to see others' views too.

 

[Hifi_chap1984]

You are correct the Alpha does have a digital out, would it make a big difference to add in a DAC? are there any you might suggest for around £200?

Thanks for all your advice.

 

[nopiano]

Cannot recommend any DAC from personal experience, but you'll find another section of this forum to search. There are dozens to choose from and you can't go far wrong with something from Cambridge, though I see Beresford has a following - and you can get one to try for under £150 mail order.

Richer has the DAC magic 100 at a similar price.

more here: http://www.whathifi.com/reviews/accessories/dacs