If you want to warm it up and get more involved with the music, you can tinker with your system, or you can change it over whole hog. Since someone has already recommended tinkering, I'll go with the whole hog approach. If you've got the green and don't mind buying used stuff of the Gon, pick up the used Ayon CD-1SC that's going for $2375 (that'll give you a very musical and involving tube cd player that's also a DAC and pre), and then go for the Music Reference RM-9 mk 2 that's going for $2300, and you'll have a very engaging and musical system. I'm willing to bet it'll be off the charts in terms of musicality.
Looking to add warmth
I'm looking for a solution to add warmth/richness or "emotion" to my rig. Currently the sound is what I would describe as dry/uninvolving, very accurate, but not pulling me in per say.
At the moment I'm using a HTPC running high bitdepth tracks via USB into a Wyred DAC2 being used as a pre to directly feed an Aragon 8008BB driving Philharmonic Audio 2's.
I would be spending money on room treatments, but my room is not very permitting. I live in a geodesic home and the living/listening room is very odd: there are few straight walls, its very open to the rest of the house, and there is a steel spiral staircase directly behind the listening position.
I've debated switching out the DAC to a PS Audio Perfectwave MkII w/bridge and foregoing USB altogether.
Or keeping the DAC2 and selling the 8008BB to switch to a warmer amp, or possibly go the tube route.
Or adding a USB converter of sorts to feed the AES/EBU input instead of the USB on the DAC2.
Tube buffer?
Adding a tube pre-amp? Or is adding another link in the chain only going to make matters worse?
Thanks in advance for any and all replies.
At the moment I'm using a HTPC running high bitdepth tracks via USB into a Wyred DAC2 being used as a pre to directly feed an Aragon 8008BB driving Philharmonic Audio 2's.
I would be spending money on room treatments, but my room is not very permitting. I live in a geodesic home and the living/listening room is very odd: there are few straight walls, its very open to the rest of the house, and there is a steel spiral staircase directly behind the listening position.
I've debated switching out the DAC to a PS Audio Perfectwave MkII w/bridge and foregoing USB altogether.
Or keeping the DAC2 and selling the 8008BB to switch to a warmer amp, or possibly go the tube route.
Or adding a USB converter of sorts to feed the AES/EBU input instead of the USB on the DAC2.
Tube buffer?
Adding a tube pre-amp? Or is adding another link in the chain only going to make matters worse?
Thanks in advance for any and all replies.