What is the weakest part in my Hi-Fi setup?

[MarcusMaximus]

speakers

thanks, could you elaborate?

 

[MarcusMaximus]

Purely my opinion, and many others on here too. Cable theory is an emotive subject on any forum, there are believers and non-believers, opinions are entrenched with very little middle ground.

Cable theory has never been proven scientifically. The peddlers and sellers of cable theory rely on pseudo science to justify their products.

In the case of your turntable do you believe Project would intentionally ship their products with deficient cabling resulting in sub-standard performance? Or would you believe Project have years of experience and know exactly what kind of cable will render the best performance from their products?

Many come on here singing the praises of a magic exotic cable they have purchased, how it has transformed their system, but none are willing to take the challenge of a blind test where they should be able to identify this magic cable every time. A simple blind test is the only way to know for certain as it removes the sighted cues from the listener.

I have aftermarket cables, I purchased them as the sleeve colour suits my decor and they are professionally terminated. I did not expect to hear a difference and I didn't.

If people want to spend good money on aftermarket cables, great, go ahead, if you think you hear a difference then good for you, you have golden ears. Personally, I would rather spend my cash on things that really do make a difference

Thanks for the info! Didnt know this

 

[Dom]

Thanks for the info! Didnt know this

I don't know either, but would you rather have a cable designed for your particular equipment or a kind of Jack-of-all-trades cable designed for many set ups, which do you think would sound better in the end.

 

[gasolin]

thanks, could you elaborate?

No

They are just nothing special, you can easily get something better for under 500 euros

q acoustics conept 20, 3030i,3050i, Dynaudio Emit 10

 

[Dom]

I will say I have never had any luck with audiophile USB or mains cables, but audiophile interconnect and speaker cables have always sounded better than cheap cables.

 

[Cricketbat70]

No, but that also doesn‘t mean it’s perfect either.

When I bought my system 30 months ago it sounded great, really great, my TT sounded just fine as did my CDT. But as time has progressed I have caught the upgrade bug, now this doesn’t mean that I have fallen out of love with what I have it’s just that I wonder what else I can get out of those grooves in the vinyl and can the overall sound be improved.

There is a lot I need to consider before I splash the cash, how far do I want to take it, what funds have I to spend, where do I want to end up, how much or how little do I want to change.

Whilst this is being considered I am still very much enjoying my music.

Everything is a compromise, even if I had an unlimited budget to buy my next hifi system as soon as I got it up and running then something new will come along to tempt me.

Yes systems can have a weak part, if I moved from my small listening room to a much larger space I would probably need to upgrade Amp and Speakers as my small stand-mounts would struggle.

That's why I stopped buying Whathifi 25+ years ago, I just second guessed and questioned everything I'd bought, when I read reviews and saw something new.
My system is far from perfect. Even now I ask the same question as the OP but until something actually dies and is beyond repair I'm not going down that hole.

 

[Dom]

The weakest part of my Hi fi is my PC.

 

[nopiano]

The weakest part of my Hi fi is my PC.

Most PCs I’ve encountered aren’t really good enough to partner with Hifi, though I’ve heard some nice MacBooks connected up. Trouble is the noise, whether hard drives or electrical connections.

 

[landco]

Obviously, the weak spot of your setup is the speakers, they are too small to play well. At least, you need a subwoofer. And a sound processor to compensate for the room’s shortcomings.

 

[Dom]

Well, I sorted it out and have good sounding PC.

The case is the Phanteks Eclipse P600s, which has a fan control hub circuit board, which takes power directly from the PSU not the motherboard. So, I wired up today and sorted out my sound nicely.

nopiano, you mention Apple Macs being fairly good with audio. I'll take on any Mac any day and win by a hair I reckon.

I've been working on my PC for many years trying different configurations and found what works and what doesn't.

Anyway have a good night peeps.

 

[Dom]

Most PCs I’ve encountered aren’t really good enough to partner with Hifi, though I’ve heard some nice MacBooks connected up. Trouble is the noise, whether hard drives or electrical connections.

I believe Apple computers are built by Apple, so they probably sound better than most.

 

[plastic penguin]

Depends how you define "weakness". I'd be hard pushed to find weak link in my system, but there's always room to improve.

 

[Jasonovich]

Hi all,

I recently bought some new stuff, after the ability the purchase some second-hand speakers from someone.

Just out of curiosity, I'm wondering what the weakest/worst part of my setup is. And what I could do as a second step to improve sound quality even more.

My current setup:

- Bluesound Powernode N330
- 2x Dali Zensor 3
- Pro-ject Debut Pro Turntable
- Pro-ject Phono Box S2
- Cables are the default that came with the Pro-ject: Pro-Ject Connect-it E RCA 1,23 m Transparant Hi-Fi
- Second cable from Phono Box to Bluesound is a 39 euro cable from Audioquest.
- I placed my speakers on Dali Cone Spikes.


Any advice is appreciated!

Are you happy with the sound?
It's not always about the kit. Room acoustics can play a part too. Try rearranging the speaker positioning.
Also, this may come across as abstract but your perception of a great sound may only exist in far costly setups or what is it you're not getting?
Is it transparency, wider sound stage or lacking in entertainment value or all of the above mentioned?
I'll be hesitant to change the speakers just yet without first having a clear remit as to what you actually want from your setup.