Improve sound

Start with a DAC that you like.

My 2¢.

  speakers is weakest point in gear chain. So  you will have very small improvement until you upgrade the speakers

synergy is a bitch. I would try smaller, more musical speakers first that you can return. (Revel, Buchardt, Dynaudio, Totem, Q acoustics, Monitor Audio, ....)

Being as you have an Anthem, I assume you've run ARC? If not, run it and you'll be better off. If so, go into your ARC file and make some tweaks (one at a time btw) to better the sound. 

With ESL's the typical weak links are the amplifier and the room.  The ARC should help improve the amplifier performance though.  That leaves the room.

@erik_squires 

Those aren't ESL's it's their box speaker with the AMT tweeter.

https://www.martinlogan.com/en/product/motion-40i

Thanks @sunshdw for correcting me.  Sorry, my bad!! :)  AMT's have great electrical performance so ignore me!!! I SAID IGNORE ME!!!!! :D

So that leaves the room.....

I like the Martin Logans. I think a tube DAC might give them real warm and liquid sound. MHDT Orchid comes to mind.

Although your speakers have a fairly high sensitivity specification, they are a 4 ohm impedance load. Your amp does not provide a spec into a 4 ohm load. My guess is an amp is needed that likes a 4 ohm load or find a speaker with 8 ohm impedance. 

+1 to the Orchid DAC or a Denafrips  or Pure Audio. The SQ of the Cambridge is OK but the app is rubbish.

Rubbish! Love that word and had to use it.

Actually Fuzzy gave you the first move.

Find a used Ares 2 Denafrips Dac-no tube,

or a Black Ice DAC-Has tube and some hum 

to go with it. The AMT tweeter with a so-so

amp might dictate a tube for softening.

Keep us posted!

DAC!! Blusound dac is not even on par with an ifi hip dac 2. You can sell your blusound and par with your cash and buy the Gustard R26. You will be blown away.

For that budget I’d upgrade the DAC, and for God’s sake lose the optical digital connection. Get these two things and I think you’ll realize a notable improvement.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096S6HBQY/ref=syn_sd_onsite_desktop_30?ie=UTF8&psc=1&pd_rd_plhdr=t

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649932466-acoustic-zen-mc2-digital-coax-cable-1m/

Here’s a review of the Draco DAC that, as it turns out, is pretty comparable to my $1100 Musician Pegasus DAC that is, in turn, pretty comparable to the Denafrips Pontus ll. DO NOT underestimate the role of the digital cable because it makes a huge difference.
https://soundnews.net/sources/dacs/musician-audio-draco-r-2r-ladder-dac-review/

My advice, your next move, if 2-channel audio is important, is to invest in a good stereo integrated amp that’ll obliterate your AVR.  Use the front L/R preouts from the Anthem into a good stereo integrated and it’ll be a HUGE improvement.  AVR amps and preamp sections by and large suck as they’re designed to cram as many features into a box at a palatable price point.  The first casualty — power supplies.  Why?  Because they’re one of the most expensive components in good audio equipment and not even Anthem can include quality power supplies and keep their AVRs cost competitive.  So, my advice, do the DAC now and if 2-channel is important your next upgrade fer sure should be adding a good stereo integrated into your setup. 
Anyway, hope this helps, and best of luck.

I think you pose a good question. No question there are lots of possible answers. My thinking is you first want rock solid basic electronics… the preamp / amp. This will give you solid - detailed and realistic output from whatever your source is and what ever your speakers are. I think the Parasound would be a very substantial upgrade and take hold of the speakers downstream and get the most out if what is coming from upstream.

Typically, the best way to upgrade is to look for weaknesses and bring them up to the level of the rest of your system… then once you have achieved parody of all your components, enjoy for a long time. Then reach for the next level… never invest less than 2 times in a component upgrade.

So, looking at your system… first amp, then preamp… getting the Anthem out of your system. When you have a higher level preamp and amp… then start thinking about what should be next.

DAC first. The Bluesound Node 130 is not a  limiting factor as a streamer, but the internal DAC is. A Denafrips Ares 12th anniversary and the Musician Pegasus are both about $1,000 and are much better than their price might indicate

I have a pair of martin logan 40i. Blusound node most recent version. Anthem mrx 720. I have the speakers connected with bi wire blue jeans speaker cable. The blu sound via optical cable.  I have about 1000 dollars.  What could I upgrade.  Thought about getting an amp like the parasound 23+ or upgrading the streamer to a cambridge. Please I would love some help/suggestions

There are about 100 ways to go.

• simplicity: TDAI 1120 (but that breaks the $1000 budget)
• active speakers and get rid of the cables and amps (also breaks the $1k budget)

Personally I would save the $1k and give it some thought as to the outcome.
Saying one wants “better”, sort of demands some idea of what better is, so we can go about getting towards what better is.

What is it that you do not about it like currently?
How is the current system less than ideal?
Which of your system components do you feel are keepers?

I'm (sort of) with @holmz . For $1k, I think you can make some sonic changes by replacing something, but it may be the sort of thing you like at first but then later realize it doesn't really allow you to enjoy the system more.

You did not mention your room.  I would think real hard about the room, speaker placement, setup, etc. and fiddle with that.  You may find the need to spend some or most of that budget on some treatments or other things relating to the setup, and if there is improvement to be made in terms of setup, it will vastly outstrip what you can achieve by dropping $1k on equipment given what you already have.

I’ll be blunt. Your $1000 budget will allow you to achieve a marginal improvement at best no matter where you direct the funds. It’s a waste of time and money. My recommendation would be to continue setting aside the the funds for a better upgrade, one that will be a significant leap forward. Like a used pair of speakers that retailed for $5k-$6k. 

Another vote for getting a better DAC. I have the N130 and went with a Denafrips.  Also, if you can use the USB instead of the Optical from the Node, you’ll hear a big difference.

All the best.

I'm (sort of) with @holmz . For $1k, I think you can make some sonic changes by replacing something, but it may be the sort of thing you like at first but then later realize it doesn't really allow you to enjoy the system more.

You did not mention your room.  I would think real hard about the room, speaker placement, setup, etc. and fiddle with that.  You may find the need to spend some or most of that budget on some treatments or other things relating to the setup, and if there is improvement to be made in terms of setup, it will vastly outstrip what you can achieve by dropping $1k on equipment given what you already have.

Yeah - the streamer, DAC and amp, sort equals a TDAI 1120… and that also tackles some of the room issues, but indirectly so.

But so does active speakers.

It is easy to become emotionally attached to speakers… and base a system around them.

At some point we need to use some objective reality to determine if the speakers are worth keeping, or are the long pole in the tent.
(I do not know much about those ML speakers, and am speaking of my system here.)

I think your DAC is fine, the least problematic. Your amp is OK, but does it work with your speakers? Start with a small change, bookshelf speakers. Look for music that you love and listen and look for sounds that blow your mind and make you want to turn up the music. You need a baseline, something to strive for and it seems you have been feeling "meh". 

I know nothing about your amp but it's safe to say, it's for home theater/entertainment and not for peak audiophile joy. 

The short version is: you have to learn about yourself. Neither your speakers nor your amp is audiophile, maybe midfi, if you sell both and add $500 you will have a lot of options ($2500?)

You can get a Parasound 23+ ( assuming used) for a $1,000?

Upgrade the room first. There's always something you can do to improve the room. It plays the biggest roll in the system's sound signature.

Many here know this but really hit a wall (pun intended) and never fully exploit the room's potential, myself included.

I learned by sheer accident after years of believing I had done enough. 

Room treatement is the most important upgrade for electorstatic speakers. Since I have owned ML  -> Quad -> Stax -> Sound Lab A645, I think that I have some experience with this subject. 

The room acoustics and the setup are the biggest contributors to the sound you hear. If they're not right, no gear change can help that.

Go to an audio show.  You would be surprised that really expensive speakers can  sound crappy in an untreated room.  Get some absorption panels and experiment with placement in your room.

What do you feel is lacking in your current system? Does your gut tell you something is missing? I am not a fan of AVR’s for serious audio, but the specs are better than average on the Anthem and it should drive those speakers. Still, the Parasound would probably provide a more refined sound. I agree that a decent DAC is needed regardless, Schiit Bifrost or Denafrips Ares are good starts and fit your budget. Ditch the optical connection immediately and get a BJC digital coax. Try ARC of course and room treatment if possible, but also mess around with placement, find what works best, even if it is not feasible.  

I'll second the question re: what you feel is missing. But since it doesn't seem that you're being active on this thread, I'll just generalize.

Since the room is always a feature, re-analyze that. In looking at your speaker specs, I'd suggest looking into a sub (relative to the kinds of things you listen to); if doing that, I'd set your speakers to "small" and let the sub take some of that load off them.

Re: a DAC, I recently retired my Node and switched to a separate streamer and DAC (I'd tried the Cambridge, but their oversampling didn't sit well with me). The Anthem looks like a good piece of gear for what it is; not knowing if it would bypass their own DAC, I'd still try analog and digital versions of the same song(s). One issue would be that the Node has a terrible analog output (there's a mod coming out of Poland, but I didn't want to go through the hassle or voiding the warranty), so unless you connect a USB DAC to the Node and feed its analog output to your receiver, you can't really tell. I'd suggest a vendor who'd give you a 30-day return policy (I used a Topping E50 DAC), connect it via USB to your Node and run the analog output into your Anthem, comparing it to the digital output from the Node. It might be that you prefer - possibly definitively - the standalone DAC analog output to the Anthem's DAC.

One more thing to consider is that (apparently) you're running a stereo setup through a multi (-multi!) channel receiver, and there might be other setups that would do much better for you. There are others here who could better recommend a solution relative to your budget, but I'm guessing you could still get a good price for the Anthem (sell or trade) and better tune your receiver to your equipment unless there's a longer-term plan for a surround system; otherwise you're under-utilizing an important part of your system and, relatively speaking, not getting your investment's worth.

Hi all the comments are great.   I am replacing the opticable for coax.  The biggest thing I hear is some times the music does just no sound  life like enough.  I was concerend it was my hi res player or not enough watts in to the 4ohm speakers. But it sounds like my best options would be a dac, new speakers, or just upgrade amp to stero one.  The idea of a dac sounds wonderful too. The athem does have dac internal.  It's a AKM 4458 DAC 32bit 758. So would a dac still help.  I do apologize if my post causes a well why did you not tell us that moment.   I go to a lot of symphonies and I love violins.  Some times when I playAdagio for Strings Op 11. The high frequency parts sound harsh instead of clear and buetiful.

I would but the ps audio DS jr dac listed at TMR, sell your bluesound unit, sell your optical cable and you will have a better sound than any of the dacs listed above. Use Ethernet to the dac, so you can run Roon or iTunes or whatever you want on your pc or Mac.

If you own this dac, you can make major upgrades to the rest of your system and this dac will not be the weak link, something you can’t say with the other dacs listed in this post, 

…The athem does have dac internal.  It's a AKM 4458 DAC 32bit 758. So would a dac still help.  I do apologize if my post causes a well why did you not tell us that moment.   I go to a lot of symphonies and I love violins.  Some times when I playAdagio for Strings Op 11. The high frequency parts sound harsh instead of clear and buetiful.

The Anthem doesn’t appear to have a headphone jack… but maybe some high impedance ear buds could hook up to the RCA outputs?
If so i would try to see if that is also not great on the violins.

if it is good, then it is not the DAC in the anthem.
And then it must be the speakers or the amp powering them..

Borrowing an amp to go from the pre out to the speakers would be a dandy data-point.

(But my impression is that the Anthem and the speakers seem like they should be pretty good.)

…
I do apologize if my post causes a well why did you not tell us that moment.
…

Threads evolve. Hence I would not worry.

One of the best investments in sound I made that allows me to utilize whatever my current setup to it's fullest was the purchase of a dbx Drive Rack PA2 along with a corresponding calibration mic.. It's basically automatic in set up and the results are phenomenal Of course the better the equipment the better the results. 

One of the best investments in sound I made that allows me to utilize whatever my current setup to it's fullest was the purchase of a dbx Drive Rack PA2 along with a corresponding calibration mic.. It's basically automatic in set up and the results are phenomenal Of course the better the equipment the better the results. 

And the TDAI 1120 has that inside along with the amp, DAC, and streamer.
Which as I mentioned before is a bit beyond budget… but the separate things all added together end up being the same cost.

Excellent I am looking into a dac...  Now I was working with speaker placement. On my left martin logan motion 40i.  The dang folded amt tweeter is Blown no sound!

I have no idea if I can fix that...talking with ml now via email will call tuesday.

Ouch!  So sorry to hear, but at least you now know there’s something specific to fix and hopefully move forward from there. 🤞🤞🤞.

I’d buy a used sub first.  With that you will add in frequencies that you speakers are completely missing.  $700 range.  I have and like a Hsu ULS15 Mk2.

PD Creative power interface for the Node and Teddy Pardo power supply.  $300.  This will improve the sound of your Node.

You would have to do something very bad to blow a tweeter.  And chances are you heard it when it happened, if that is what happened.  If this is not the case and you are just not getting the sound you are looking for from one speaker, consider troubleshooting in order to determine what else may be wrong.  This is always preferable to throwing money at a problem and it is how best to learn about things.  
Always start with the simplest stuff.  
Like making sure your connections are good.   You mentioned that you have bi-wire speaker cables; I would begin there.  Be methodical and be sure to power everything down before reconnecting anything.  

If you are using the room correction in your receiver that would be another good thing to check.  Re-run the setup and listen again.  

You can also switch the left and right speakers.  If your tweeter is truly not working, it will be immediately apparent.  Are the speakers under warranty?  Perhaps ML could come to your rescue with a repair or replacement.  

If any of these things yield positive results, and you get both speakers working properly, then you can try moving the speakers around.  Closer together or farther apart.  Toed in or out.  Closer to the wall or pulled further out into your room.  If you are new at this you will be surprised at how small changes can affect the sound and the overall balance.  These are the basics of getting the most out of any system.  
Do not spend any more money until you get the basics right.  

Then you can consider upgrading to a new DAC or integrated amplifier.  
Good luck and may the Force be with you.  

+1 DAC for best sonic uptick at $1k

Hi all ml is sending me a new tweeter!! Free! I just sent them email with some info and the receipt

good news!

My wife bought the musician Audio Draco  on their website they were spot on 

a solid 300 hour breakin ,we gave it 2 solid weeks  the first week was raw  Week 2 it got much better not far off at all to my friends Pegasus sure the other has a bit better dynamics and image depth maybe 5% better , but May putting a decent tube preamp like the freya+ with good nos tubes it totally transformed it to sound 

pretty decent especially for $750, there are # tubes inside and judt upgrade them with a bit bigger rating Hifi tuning much cleaner and detailed,  parts connecxion 

20% off $160 for 2  .  The Aqarius  I heard briefly was very good for the money.

 Not a top  audiophile dac but very respectable.  To get reference quality  in the $5k and up range the T+A 200 I am hoping before the holidays , we shall see .