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| Upgrades http://www.x404.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=7035 |
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| Author: | jonlumb [ Wed Mar 17, 2010 10:47 am ] |
| Post subject: | Upgrades |
My current system at the moment is basically my computer, a Nad C320BEE and a pair of Quad 11Ls. At the time of purchase (about 6-7 years ago), the Quads were a cut above anything in their price bracket, but it did skew my budget rather so they've never had great source / amplification. Now that I've finished being a student I'm starting to put some money aside to rectify the imbalance. I have listened to various bits of kit since then, notably a really nice Naim / ProAc setup (8k ish), a Unison Research Unico 1 amp ( about £750) and a Chord Electronics / Kef reference system (£22k). Now much as the Chord setup was really outstanding, I simply won't have the patience to save that long. Also, my room is really, really small and so any level of floorstanders us pretty much out. The Quads will match some pretty decent electronics, so I shall probably keep them for now. Anyone gave any thoughts on makes / models to look at / audition? |
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| Author: | saspro [ Wed Mar 17, 2010 11:42 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Upgrades |
What size is the room? What are the speakers standing on? How much do you want to spend? (read, how much can you afford to spend) |
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| Author: | jonlumb [ Wed Mar 17, 2010 11:49 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Upgrades |
The room is odd, doesn't actually have any parallel walls. There are two opposing walls of about 1.5m and 3.5m, and then the two other walls are roughly the same length at about 4m. Currently the speakers are sat on my desk either side of monitors, but I have just got rid of the bed so have options for getting speaker stands and sticking them elsewhere. As for budget, that's a difficult one. This is something that I'm going to be saving up for, but I tend to work better having a specific target rather than arbitrarily saving for a given price point. Also, if it's something where I can develop a sensible upgrade route (such as an integrated amp that I can then use as a preamp later on, that would be good) then I can spread the cost around more. If it's going to be a single purchase then probably about £4k, if I can go down the integrated -> pre/power route then maybe closer to £8k. However, it's more about the sound than the money, so if I can get something that ticks all the boxes for less then that would be outstanding. |
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| Author: | saspro [ Wed Mar 17, 2010 11:57 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Upgrades |
Clicky Very nice sounding amp & under budget as well |
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| Author: | saspro [ Wed Mar 17, 2010 11:59 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Upgrades |
Link 2 |
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| Author: | dogbert10 [ Thu Mar 18, 2010 8:29 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Upgrades |
Might I ask why you're planning to spend that much when you're source is not exactly in the same league and your room is small? Hooking a PC up to four grand's worth of hi-fi gear is only going to show up just how bad a PC is as a source. If I was going to spend that much, I'd have it in a room of its own with an expensive CD player or turntable hooked up to it. I think you'd be better off spending around a grand to upgrade what you have now and save the rest until you have somewhere better to put it and a decent source to put through it. Just my 10p worth. |
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| Author: | jonlumb [ Thu Mar 18, 2010 9:02 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Upgrades |
The plan was always to get a decent source as well, probably in the form of a decent DAC so that I can either get a transport or a digital out on the PC. I tend to buy all from the same manufacturer, so would for example get the Naim DAC if I was to get Naim amplification (given that the Naim DAC is £2k, that specific is unlikely, but it illustrates the point). As such, my thoughts were more along the lines of which manufacturers to look at. I'll agree that the room is on the small side, but there's not a lot I can do about that. However, I'm not planning on upgrading the speakers at the moment, and any halfway decent set of electronics will be good in a bigger room as well. As such, I can still get some sizeable improvements now without buggering everything up if a room change happens. Whilst my current CD player is far from great (it's a Technics 390) it does have a digital output on it, which will be a reasonable starting point too. |
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| Author: | dogbert10 [ Thu Mar 18, 2010 10:32 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Upgrades |
In that case, try an audition the Musical Fidelity M6i - it's a single box amp but inside it's a pre-amp and a pair of monoblocs. It chucks out 200W per channel and I've found it to be very speaker-friendly - no matter what type you put on it (small stand-mounted or big floor-standing), it always sounds absolutely brilliant...and a snip at only £2500 
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| Author: | jonlumb [ Thu Mar 18, 2010 1:32 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Upgrades |
Interesting idea there. I'm certainly not averse to the cost, and whilst I found Musical Fidelity to be a touch bright when I last heard them, that was 6-7 years ago. £2500 does put it right up against the SuperNait though... |
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| Author: | dogbert10 [ Thu Mar 18, 2010 3:20 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Upgrades |
Depends whether you need all the extra inputs the SuperNait has or not. As with all hi-fi, it's your ears that matter in the end. |
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| Author: | jonlumb [ Thu Mar 18, 2010 3:39 pm ] | |||||||||
| Post subject: | Re: Upgrades | |||||||||
Definitely. There's the additional issue that when spending this kind of money, it's the kind of decision where you want to consider ALL the options, and there are a hell of a lot of them at that kind of price range. |
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| Author: | dogbert10 [ Thu Mar 18, 2010 5:07 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Upgrades |
At least you get the chance to listen to some very impressive kit. Just don't listen to the Titan... |
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| Author: | EddArmitage [ Thu Mar 18, 2010 5:12 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Upgrades |
Don't forget your own words of wisdom, Jon. Learn from your mistakes; don't repeat them! |
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| Author: | jonlumb [ Thu Mar 18, 2010 5:33 pm ] | |||||||||
| Post subject: | Re: Upgrades | |||||||||
You're damned right Ed! Not going down that road again. |
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| Author: | andytw [ Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:10 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Upgrades |
Cyrus are worth a look given your budget. They have a good reputation, do a DAC and various amps and CD players. Most of their products can also be upgraded at a later date to models higher up in the range or by adding external power supplies. |
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