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Rate my system and chose the next upgrade

Good evening,

I'm looking to get my system to the "next" level.  Before you ask, what is "lacking", I can not pinpoint anything.  Over all, seems to sound "pretty good" to me.  I've been back to vinyl, buying nicer copies and cleaning well with a musichall machine.  Most of my time is spent utilizing a quick CD or SACD and Hi-Rez digital with Audirvana but really enjoy the vinyl experience.  I would utilize more vinyl but usually it's more time consuming.

Why am I upgrading?  I feel I may be missing out on improvement of sound somehow, therefore "upgrading" must be the correct answer right?  Here's my system.  What would you start with to upgrade?  My typical upgrade budgets are about $3k at a time.  I'll list the approximate retail value (new)

Yamaha A-s2000 integrated- $3000?
Yamaha A-s2100 SACD/CD- $3000?
Teac UD-501 DAC with DSD capability - $850
Clear Audio Performance DC Turntable- $3500 with clarify tonearm
Clear Audio Balance Phono stage- $1000
Sound Smith Cart- can't remember which but a $1200 unit
Martin Logan motion 40XT's- $2000/pair
Martin Logan small sub woofer-$500?

Go!



128x128dhpeck
nordicnorm
313 posts
 
Your best bang-for-your-buck upgrade would definitely be the speakers.

You could probably find a pair of Martin Logan Spires for just over $3,000. Or Montis for just under $5,000.

Used, of course.

But ML's require a fair bit of space around them to work well (i.e. 3' from the rear wall, 2-3' from sidewalls).
auxinput
2,920 posts
 

@dhpeck - the Klipsch speakers are not that bad in general.  They are usually extremely efficient.  However, they are horn based speakers, which you will either like or dislike as they have their own type of sound.  Some people love horn based speakers, others do not.

Sounds like you have a number of speakers to audition.  Have fun!

slaw's avatar
slaw
20,403 posts
 
"I'll watch for that DVD"........

Then goes on to the more sexy, albeit more expensive stuff. This is the problem. People don't won't to address or are not willing to take the time to address the basics! This behavior will result in a lot of expensive component replacements, a lot of wondering why I have these highly rated components and I'm still not satisfied, and so on.

Good luck.




2channel8
753 posts
 
Be analytical. If you are enjoying vinyl more than digital, the next upgrade should be something that benefits SACD/CD and DAC sources at a minimum.
Integrateds That I have enjoyed are Primare I32, Belles Aria and Belles Soloist. 
Speakers that are easy to position and sound great include Canton and Vandersteen.
I don't have a lot of experience with sound treatments, other than speaker/listening spot experimenting, because the ones I've tried really made no difference. I guess I'm lucky that my space is so irregular.
tomcarr
1,468 posts
 
+1 slaw

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