[Letitroll98]

A word for responsible spending here.  Sooner or later, usually sooner, you're going to tire of whatever you buy.  Taken that as a given your old stuff is going to be sold or put in a closet.  If you buy new you suffer a substantial depreciation expense.  The answer is buy used, which you can then sell for as much or more than you bought it for.  Our Trading Post here or Audiogon are good sources.  If you follow that paradigm audio is free beyond the initial investment and any upgrades in class.

First investment, treat the room.  You can easily make your own with some Roxul Safe'n Sound and a frame made of 1x4s.  Cover it with some fabric from Joann's.  Place them at first reflection points, sit in your seat, have someone move a mirror along the side wall, when you see your speakers that's the first reflection point.  Try big pillows and heavy blankets first as a proof of concept, you'll be amazed.

[Tyson]

Another vote for treating the room before buying any more stuff.

[Elizabeth]

I have been an 'audiophile' over 55 years... I have yet to 'treat the room'**.

** I do have some furnishing arranged to improve the sound. but that is not the same as buying weird stuff to hang on wall etc

[Bob Stark]

My tip,

Don't READ anything about audio on the Forums, hi-fi rags, etc.  If you really like the sound of your system, be content with it and listen to the music.  Once you start upgrading, it is a VERY DIFFICULT habit to break.  There will always be something that sounds better.  Enjoy what you have.  There are a very low percentage of those that are on these sites that can say that--no matter how much their stuff costs.

Bob

[Early B.]

I have been an 'audiophile' over 55 years... I have yet to 'treat the room'**.

Me, too (...except the 55 years part). It's a particularly useless endeavor if you don't have full control of the room, i.e., a wife, kids, etc.

Quick story -- an audiophile buddy spent a bunch of money treating his troublesome room and it made an improvement, but once he acquired open baffle servo bass modules from GR Research, all of his bass loading problems went away, and so did his room treatments.

[simoon]

Nothing wrong with you at all.

If you care about great sound quality, then upgrades are completely justified. While those Klipsch are great values, and a hell of a lot of fun to listen to, they are just not as accurate as Salk, or the others you mention.

I have been an 'audiophile' over 55 years... I have yet to 'treat the room'**.

** I do have some furnishing arranged to improve the sound. but that is not the same as buying weird stuff to hang on wall etc

Room treatments, in the audiophile community, seem to be a bit of an ignored aspect of great sound. Not a single system out there, will not be improved with a small amount of room treatments. The improvements will, for less money than equipment upgrades, surpass them.

Room treatments are not 'weird stuff', they are basic audio requirements to optimize sound quality. Nor are they 'tweaks'. Yeah, like your Magnepans are completely normal, and not weird at all 

 

[simoon]

Quick story -- an audiophile buddy spent a bunch of money treating his troublesome room and it made an improvement, but once he acquired open baffle servo bass modules from GR Research, all of his bass loading problems went away, and so did his room treatments.

His only problems were bass loading?

Almost every room I've heard, has other problems than just in the bass.

[Saturn94]

My tip,

Don't READ anything about audio on the Forums, hi-fi rags, etc.  If you really like the sound of your system, be content with it and listen to the music.  Once you start upgrading, it is a VERY DIFFICULT habit to break.  There will always be something that sounds better.  Enjoy what you have.  There are a very low percentage of those that are on these sites that can say that--no matter how much their stuff costs.

Bob

This!

[Tyson]

Rooms that have basic treatment sound better than those that don't.  If you already have a pretty good amp/preamp/DAC/Speaker, then getting "even better" amps/preamps/DACs/speakers is a series of diminishing returns.  Because you already have a pretty good setup.  However, if you have an untreated room, even moderate amounts of treatment are going to be a big improvement in sound quality for the simple fact that you've done nothing to make the room itself sound better. 

And, whoever said that getting speakers with OB bass deals with room modes effectively, I agree!  A well treated room, PLUS open baffle speakers (particularly bass OB) will be very close to state of the art sound for very little outlay. 

If its a shared space, I recommend doing something like the Art Panels that GIK makes.  Very cool prints that go on the wall that happen to be great at absorbing 1st reflection sound.  Cheap, too.  Especially when compared to the cost of a speaker/amp/preamp/DAC upgrade. 

[ntjetsmoke]

Jcazes, there is nothing wrong with you. Please remember, "Human wants and desire is unlimited." Additionally, capitalism, through marketing tells us constantly we could enjoy life more if we buy more. If one believes they are "missing out" the urge to find out about what you are missing will possibly cost you much angst and money.

I bought my first stereo, a combo amp- eight track player and two speakers in 1965. This simple set up brought me great entertainment. I chased MORE and got less until 2010 all of this at a cost of a quarter of a million dollars. Some here have spent more and may have found IT, who knows? IT =entertainment = enjoyment, since 2010 I have rediscovered IT. Here is how:



2.Buy kits to build your own speakers. Use cheap lamp cord to make speaker wire, cable, and power cords. Then build an amp from a kit the satisfaction of hearing your own handy work is enormous.
3. Build your own room treatments.
4. Use free software to measure the room acoustics and place the treatments accordingly.
5. Look at the grounding circuit at your house, the one which has a copper rod driven in the ground which connects a solid copper wire to your breaker box. Buy exactly the same rod and solid wire, take them to an anodizer and have them plated with silver. Hire an electrician to substitute your new highly conductive silver-plated grounding circuit for the old copper -WOW cost< a grand.

Does this look like music playback  is a hobby or a crusade? Hobbies are enjoyable and crusades are not winnable.

6. Build a dedicated room. Include storage for all your music and spare gear.
Find contentment.

[Early B.]

Rooms that have basic treatment sound better than those that don't.  If you already have a pretty good amp/preamp/DAC/Speaker, then getting "even better" amps/preamps/DACs/speakers is a series of diminishing returns.  Because you already have a pretty good setup.  However, if you have an untreated room, even moderate amounts of treatment are going to be a big improvement in sound quality for the simple fact that you've done nothing to make the room itself sound better. 

You may be right. I only have one room, one main system, and one set of room treatment experiences, but I've tried various room treatments and none of them worked. Is my room perfect? Of course not. However, I'd be interested in experimenting with room treatments again if it were free, but I don't want to spend anymore money on it.

Back on topic -- if I had the OP's budget when I first started, I'd skip a lot of time and wasted money and start at a good place with high quality speakers and gear. Due to budget constraints, it took me something like 15 years to get to where the OP can go overnight if he listens to the good advice found here. Imagine starting your audiophile journey with Salk, Philharmonic or GR Research - oh man! For instance, I must have gone through 10 subwoofers before landing on GR Research's DIY servo subs. Far superior to anything I ever purchased and the reason I'm a strong proponent of DIY speakers. For me, there's no other reasonable upgrade path for bass.

 

[jcazes]

Thanks for all of the replies and advice. While the recommendation for room treatment make sense, that's just not an option with my current living situation. I'm not sure I'd go that route due to aesthetics (short of some basic options), which makes me realize then perhaps I shouldn't go too crazy when I upgrade.

Love all of the suggestions and think the bug is tapering off a bit. Mostly because what I wanted to buy has been sold!