Which type of products I need?

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E-T0101

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Which type of products I need?
« on: 13 Apr 2018, 08:16 pm »
Hi,

This is my current system
Elipson Studio Pro (Bookshelf Speakers)
SVS SB2000 (SUB)
DENON AVR-X2400H
PC + OLED as monitor

Source: TIDAL, Deezer & Hi-Res folder.

I'm about to build/buy 3 way small stand floor speaker / big stand mount

I want buy miniDSP HD soon

after those upgrades I want to upgrade my amplification
Which products I need?
AMP + DAC like Schiit offering?
PREAMP? AMP? DAC?

Please help I got confused, I really want to get this audio world more seriously but cant understand all those products  :duh: :thumb:

Thanks!

JLM

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Re: Which type of products I need?
« Reply #1 on: 14 Apr 2018, 12:32 pm »
Welcome aboard!

Why the itch to upgrade?  (Gear lust, missing an audio something, money to burn)

You're order of purchase (speaker/source/amp) is ideal IMO.

What's your budget? 

What is your listening room like (private/shared, shape/size/materials, can you achieve a good setup with speakers away from walls and symmetrical to the listening position).

Bass is foundational IMO to achieving high fidelity playback (I'm not a bass head), so I'd definitely keep the SB2000 and steer towards stand mounts (assuming you don't have pets or kids to knock them over). 

The amplification (pre/power/integrated) should simply serve your source(s), speakers, and user needs.

E-T0101

  • Jr. Member
  • Posts: 4
Re: Which type of products I need?
« Reply #2 on: 14 Apr 2018, 07:48 pm »
Hi,

I heard some 3 way speakers (Harbeth, ProAc, Sunous Faber) that blows me up. The vocal and instrumental separation, the open stage and image and live feeling just got me fall in love.

Budget for dsp/amp/dac is around 1000$ and if needed can do 10-20% more.

Room is 15 sqm, sound is ok when speaker placed near wall and sub near one of them, but when I place them in the first 1/3 and sits in the 2/3 of the room sound is totally amazing - real 2 way monitor experience with sub that 'disappear' most of the time.
I have a carpet and curtain, couch, chair, closet, and abar-table for coffee machine in the side.

In the next year I will move on to 20 sqm~ living room - no idea how it will look like.

Most of the time I listen privatly, I don't care about wide listening position, as long I can have my sweet spot near wall I'm good (I know it now gonna happen :D )

What product I need before my receiver?? AMP + DAC?


Thanks!

JLM

  • Full Member
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  • The elephant normally IS the room
Re: Which type of products I need?
« Reply #3 on: 15 Apr 2018, 12:10 pm »
Those are nice speakers, but any of them 'deserve' better than a receiver or a $1000-1200 DAC/amp/DSP budget.  And that's coming from a 'speaker guy' who uses $730/pair mono-blocks on $4,000/pair speakers.  Of course you can 'limp along' with your receiver until you can spend more.  Note that DAC technology has been changing so fast I'd avoid investing heavily in the DAC.  If you're using Tidal you might want to look at a $300 Meridian Explorer 2 DAC to gain full access to MQA.  DSP can be added later as it seems that your budget is tight.  Again after buying speakers look for an amp that serves your source(s)/speakers best.

For the specified room sizes, already owning a nice sub, and apparently not having children/pets I'd stick with stand mounted speakers.  And I'd look towards better tweeter/woofer quality versus a 3-way speaker (as Harbeth, ProAc, and Sonus Faber would also).  I find that 6-7 inch woofers are needed to provide good mid/bass body (something that the sub can't do).  Next step is to adjust your budget up, then make serious auditions:  bring a selection of music you are familiar with, look for a private room that resembles home, make sure the setup is good, and take notes (forces you to really listen and doesn't rely on fleeting aural memory), and limit yourself to 3 or 4 speakers per day.

Just to give an idea of a good system that you're aiming for:  $4000/pair Harbeth 7ES-3, $3500 DSPeaker X4 (DAC/pre/DSP), $1700 PS Audio Stellar S300 power amp, $800 for cables/rack, $10,000 total.  Can you go cheaper?  Yes, as always with compromises:  $2200/pair Harbeth 3PESR, $800 DSPeaker Dual Core (DAC/pre/DSP), $649 NuPrime STA-9, $350 for cables/rack, $4000 total.  Can you go cheaper yet?  Not without dropping down into another league entirely.