Upgrade, with a reasonable budget

[ultrarunner]

Hi all

I know I've asked about specific items in the past, but this request is a little different... Thanks to a successful PPI claim I now have some "spare" money - up to a maximum of around £2000, but could go to £2500, definitely not more.

My current system is :

Rega P5 (with TT-PSU) fitted with Ortofon 2M Blue (modified with SRM Tech platter, Groovetracer subplatter, Michael Lim counterweight)

Graham Slee Gram Amp 2SE phono stage

Cyrus CD7Q CD player

Arcam A85 amp

Monitor Audio Bronze BR5 floorstanding speakers

The latest addition was the Cyrus CD7Q which I absolutely love, the detail and drive is phenomenal, and shows my turntable up a little sadly.

So, where are the weak points in my system, where should I be looking to upgrade? I know the speakers are probably in need of changing, and I've had a hankering for an Inspire Quest upgrade to my turntable for a long while...but are these the best places to start? New phono stage? New cartridge?

My musical tastes are modern prog (Steven Wilson, Gazpacho, Riverside), some rock, some singer/songwriter, some Icelandic/Scandi types of things (Sigur Ros etc). I love a clear sound, well detailed, good soundstage...

I know I really need to go listen to different things, but I'm looking for starting points - what should I be trialling?

Cheers

Si

 

[NSA_watch_my_toilet]

The best improvements will be in the room preparation. You have a good gear, but you not mentionned any room preparation. It's the way to maximize the results out of it.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

I think the amp and speakers are where you should be looking at for the kind of money you have at the moment and maybe a cartridge upgrade at a later date,sell on the a85 and the ma's which will give even more of a budget.Any upgrades to your turntable are going to be minimal in terms of Sq apart from a new cart,as your currently using a mm I don't see any need for phono stage upgrade at the moment,I've just upgraded from the project phono box se to the dino mk3 with not much in the way of Sq improvement with my current 2m blue but would expect a leap once I change to a better mc unit.hence the reason I believe the amp and speakers are the weakest link at the moment.I used to own an a85 myself,great amp but can be bettered,especially in the mids and treble.Id try and split the budget evenly between amp and speakers or no more than a couple of hundred either way of each other.look at cyrus as your already using one of their units,roksan,rega,naim and there is lots of love for abrahamson on the site at the moment,check out price comparable speakers from focal,dali,proac,neat and pmc to name but a few and then I'm sure the active speaker brigade will be along soon with their own words of wisdom.lol.

 

[Vladimir]

I would say goodbye to the MA Bronze and say hello to ProAc and Sonus Faber.

 

[drummerman]

Imho, the weaknesses of your system are starting from the top: Cartridge (as good as the Ortofon Blue is it still uses a very basic cantilever/diamond cut. It will not give you the detail of a fine Line/Gyger etc and the hollow aluminium cantilever is arguably even more basic. ) I did say 'detail' rather than musicality. I love Ortofons but would look towards the Black.

Arcam A85 ... pedestrian.

Bronze 5 ... I did actually quite like them, kind of musical but they give the big picture neglecting finer nuances.

All imho and there are a myriad of choices out there ... .

It would be sad if you'd lost interest in your turntable so the cartridge is the first upgrade I'd make, £500 for the Black.

Amplifier; Cyrus 8A + PSX-R (or PSX-R2), around £1200 (£1400)

Speakers; Quad S2, £800

Alternatively, if you like it loud(er); Cyrus 8a, Quad S4, Ortofon Black and add a PSX-R (or version 2) and a better phono stage at a later stage.

 

[steve_1979]

AVI DM10 active speakers (with built in amplifiers) and upgrade your cartridge.

 

[Al ears]

Steve has a point regards going active and I'd also agree with drummerman, although not necessarily on that particular cartridge but one in that price range. There's no real point of tweaking your turntable to death if you are not going to change the one thing that will give noticeable improvements.

Agree the Arcam was good but can be quite easily bettered today, not too sure how much you'd get for it if you sold it on.

Sinus Faber Venere 2.5 @ £2200 plus a cartridge might be the way to go for now.

 

[Vladimir]

Sonus Faber Venere 2.5 @ £2200 plus a cartridge might be the way to go for now.

+1

Upgrade both transducers to get the biggest improvement. The SF Veneres are very good at plucky music with not much heavy bass and LF congestion. Indie and Alternative will suite them perfectly I think.

 

[Vladimir]

Also from the clearance at Seven Oaks S&V:

Dynaudio Excite X38

KEF R700

Monitor Audio Gold 200

 

[paulkebab]

with the claim. I'd get the biggest speakers your ears like and your room can handle then get an amp to tame them. The MA's you have aren't great in the bass dept but maybe that's something you don't mind.

 

[Andrewjvt]

Also from the clearance at Seven Oaks S&V:

Dynaudio Excite X38

KEF R700

Monitor Audio Gold 200

R700 from kef there is a great pair in as new condition on ebay at the moment. (Only 9 months old also)And the guy thats selling them them is really cool.

He would be a fool to let that 9ne pass him by.

 

[keeper of the quays]

Change amp...get quad 909 power amp..and musical fidelity htp theatre processor pre amp! Second hand of course....theres a guy who makes interconnects on ebay..silver coated wire ones..cheap, my mate uses them..sound good..this upgrade will make all your other kit sound much better! I auditioned those speakers you have..thought them very good..try the amp/pre amp upgrade...you may be surprised? Hope this helps..

 

[lindsayt]

Ultrarunner, if I had your system I would look to replace everything.

I would try a TT / CD player, amplification speaker combination whose entire cost was less than what you could get by selling everything.

Nothing's guranteed in hi-fi, but with the right the choices, there's a very high chance that you could get a significantly better sounding system overall and still end up with £2000 sitting in your bank account. Which you could use for other things apart from hi-fi equipment.

Gromits system at the Scalford 2016 show would be a great starting point for your auditioning.

 

[chebby]

Gromits system at the Scalford 2016 show would be a great starting point for your auditioning.

Lindsayt just makes these assumptions; that we all go to this show and that we all know 'Gromit' and his system. So, to help a bit if you aren't going (details from the exhibitor list) ...

MacBook/Sony ES/Teac UD-H01

Sony PS-6750/Benz Micro ACE SL

Cyrus 8vs/PSX-R & Exposure XIII (phonostage)

Q Acoustics 3010

And it'll be in room 201 on the ground floor (just to make it easier for you if you do decide to go).

 

[CnoEvil]

My advice is to keep system synergy in mind, if changing a component.

ATM you have a very clean and incisive CDP going into a smooth, warm amp...so one helps offset the other.

I would look at Amps like Arcam A39, Hegel H80, Rega Elicit R and Creek 100A.

On the speaker front, I'd consider the Kef R300, which sounds more like a small Floorstander.

 

[rainsoothe]

Hi. Indeed, your components have good synergy. Nice phono pre-amp. I agree that the main big parts to upgrade are, by a mile, the amp and speakers, then the cartridge. I'd look at a Naim Nait XS2 (or, even better, used Supernait 1) + a pair of Sonus Faber Toy Tower or something in the Venere range. Or Hegel H80 + ATC/Harbeth speakers.

 

[ultrarunner]

Thanks for the (very) varied advice everyone!

Went to my local dealer (Moorgate Acoustics in Sheffield), had a lovely long chat, an unrushed demo, and made a couple of purchases...

So, that's stage one sorted...

Next, new cartridge, and (probably) the Graham Slee PSU upgrade.

 

[CnoEvil]

Thanks for the (very) varied advice everyone!

Went to my local dealer (Moorgate Acoustics in Sheffield), had a lovely long chat, an unrushed demo, and made a couple of purchases...

?

So, that's stage one sorted...

Next, new cartridge, and (probably) the Graham Slee PSU upgrade.

Can we have a little more detail ie. What did you discuss / listen to / buy? What were your impressions?

 

[ultrarunner]

Certainly!

Lots of discussion about different ways to go, what works well with what etc. Huge bonus was the guy there liked the same music as me, so we could discuss everything in conjunction with specific artists such as Steven Wilson, Anathema etc

Initial listening was to a Cyrus 8a amp with Rega RX3 speakers, which looked and sounded wonderful. The Cyrus was chosen to start for a number of reasons - a recommendation above, synergy with my existing player, I've always liked the look of Cyrus kit AND they had a vefy good offer on that model.

We'd talked about me liking PMC speakers (from afar, way out of budget previously!) so the next offer was a set of standmounts (not sure of model) with an exceptionally good offer... First thoughts were very impressive, but the more I listened the more I realised I didn't like that "super detailed" monitor sound, so they went again.

We then talked about an ex-demo Musical Fidelity amp for a bit more, but had one more set of speakers to try first... the Spendor A3. Initially I'd discounted them on looks (yes, they matter too!) but on listening they were an instant hit, a beautiful mix of detail, musicality, and enough power when needed. No matter what I played I kept smiling...

So I bought the Cyrus 8a and Spendor A3... they're installed, and I'm now listening to everything!

 

[CnoEvil]

Thank you...it helps put your situation and taste into perspective.

Once again, you have shown that you like to mix clean and detailed (Cyrus), with organic and musical (Spendor).

Good job.

 

[drummerman]

Certainly!

Lots of discussion about different ways to go, what works well with what etc. Huge bonus was the guy there liked the same music as me, so we could discuss everything in conjunction with specific artists such as Steven Wilson, Anathema etc

Initial listening was to a Cyrus 8a amp with Rega RX3 speakers, which looked and sounded wonderful. The Cyrus was chosen to start for a number of reasons - a recommendation above, synergy with my existing player, I've always liked the look of Cyrus kit AND they had a vefy good offer on that model.

We'd talked about me liking PMC speakers (from afar, way out of budget previously!) so the next offer was a set of standmounts (not sure of model) with an exceptionally good offer... First thoughts were very impressive, but the more I listened the more I realised I didn't like that "super detailed" monitor sound, so they went again.

We then talked about an ex-demo Musical Fidelity amp for a bit more, but had one more set of speakers to try first... the Spendor A3. Initially I'd discounted them on looks (yes, they matter too!) but on listening they were an instant hit, a beautiful mix of detail, musicality, and enough power when needed. No matter what I played I kept smiling...

So I bought the Cyrus 8a and Spendor A3... they're installed, and I'm now listening to everything!

Gratulations on your new system.

Don't forget to try your 8 with a PSX-R. They really do make a significant difference.

 

[rainsoothe]

Congrats and enjoy - you did it the right way: auditioning

 

[ultrarunner]

Once again, you have shown that you like to mix clean and detailed (Cyrus), with organic and musical (Spendor).

Good job.

Exactly that!!!

Had to be aware of what would fit in my room as well. Fiancee is a music lover too, so no issues there, but it's not the largest space, so it had to work within positional constraints.

Was late to bed last night...just couldn't stop putting another song on If they're that good now, how good will they be when they're run in?!

 

[ultrarunner]

<

Gratulations on your new system.

Don't forget to try your 8 with a PSX-R. They really do make a significant difference.

I'm keeping my eyes out for second hand ones to appear on the market. I'd like to get a couple, one for the amp, one for the CD - that would look rather smart on my rack ;-)

 

[drummerman]

<

Gratulations on your new system.

Don't forget to try your 8 with a PSX-R. They really do make a significant difference.

I'm keeping my eyes out for second hand ones to appear on the market. I'd like to get a couple, one for the amp, one for the CD - that would look rather smart on my rack ;-)

The more the merrier