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Remarkably better sound possible with just 1 system component change?

I could have posted this discussion to a few other categories but chose this one because discussions related to 2 of the 4 components in question belong here.

So it's been ~2.5 yrs since I purchased my current system. I did a lot of research at the time here on audiogon, but no auditioning, and put together a system that sounds very, very good to me.

While I have no complaints, the itch to upgrade has surfaced recently.

I am curious as to whether you guys think it will be possible for me to replace just 1 of my primary 4 components and obtain significantly better sound as a result. The more discernible and obvious the sound improvement, the better obviously. I am not looking for a marginal upgrade - I want dramatically better sound. And I am not looking to replace more than 1 component at this time. I am hoping to get a few ideas/candidates and then may decide to audition some of the recommendations before making a decision. Hopefully some of the upgrade paths are such no-brainers that I may even be able to take a leap of faith without auditioning. Note also that acoustic room treatments are not viable in my current listening location.
 
My current 4 part system:

1. Lumin D2 - 100% of my listening is streaming via Tidal
2. Mcintosh C2600 preamp
3. Mcintosh MC452 amp
4. Focal Kanta 2 speakers

Cables are Cardas Golden presence RCAs from the Lumin to C2600, Cardas Clear Cygnus XLRs from the C2600 to the MC452, and Kimber 8TC speaker cables to the Kantas.

Soundstaging, dynamics, imaging and overall clarity are all great. I have to say I love the Be tweeters. And the bass is punchy, tight, fast and certainly sufficient for my needs. Vocals and overall sound are warm, liquid smooth and analog-like, just the way I like it. (Forgive me if I've botched some of the characterizations - I'm no expert at this). The only thing I can think of that could use some improvement is the sound quality at lower volume levels, although that is not terribly important to me since most of my listening is in the 90+ Db range. Would be nice, though.

So while I do love the overall sound, surely dramatically better sound can be obtained via a 1 component swap? Budget is ~10k. Or will I need to spend more, or upgrade more than 1 component to achieve the desired result?

Thanks in advance for your time and thoughts.

chandybe
159 responses Add your response
terry9
2,210 posts
 
Another possibility is to upgrade the components in your speaker crossovers. Not change the values. Change the quality.

Few speaker manufacturers spend much on crossover components. You can make a HUGE difference in sound by upgrading capacitors (to film and foil), inductors (to air core) and resistors (best is bare nichrome wire, and dirt cheap), without spending half of your budget. I use MIT Multicap RTX series styrene caps as my go-to caps - you can spend more, but I doubt it would make any difference in your system.

Same goes for preamp and amps, but these can wait until you mod your speakers. Best of all, it's easy to DIY.

Good luck!
array1138's avatar
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array1138
77 posts
 
I don't get the concept that inprovements have to cost a dime. Back in the 80's I did sold audio and did "tunings" - my name for it -  for rich guys who owned equipment I couldn't even dream of, like Infinity IRS's, Apogees, CJ Premier 4's Quicksiler 190's., etc. I had a 40 year career in the nightclub business. When I ran the Copa in NY all my amps were Macs and now I keep my 1700 around for it's sentimental value. Its tuner and phono are OK through my Spendor s3/5s but only I know what buttons to fiddle with to get it to sound right. In this setup my Marantz  MT6225a and Shure M3D sound life like and sooo much fun. I have a lot of stuff and change it around just for fun. Next up is a Fleawatt amp I just picked coupled with  different preamps to see what happens. My 300B was made by 3Dimension Audio, the guy whose amps were used to voice the original Magicos, and it's in California for a checkup before I sell it, and maybe just keep my Art Audio Symphony ll. At my age I'm lucky I can still lift them. LOL
I know something of this subject.
Anyway...
What one can achieve through properly tuning a system is far more than can be done by throwing money at it. Most equipment sounds more alike than different, if it's any good. After all the goal is transparency, n'est pas?Speaker placement and AC filtering come first.  It takes time and a lot of listening, but you can focus the imaging and sonics through placement, or by ameliorating the placement required by circumstance. Room interactions are much reduced at low volume levels, so you might try lowering your usual volume so more detail comes through. Sometimes the softer instruments come through more easily because less power is being used and the power supplies can better keep up, even with Macs. Don't forget that power requirements are logarithmically related to volume, which is why listening loudly compresses dynamics. Every tech who is a true pro knows that if it sounds compressed you lower the volume.After all this time, I still enjoy this.
Peace and Love,
Ray
mahgister's avatar
mahgister
12,519 posts
 
What one can achieve through properly tuning a system is far more than can be done by throwing money at it.
A gold nugget that i discover also from my experience, more limited than yours, but anyway the same...

Thanks

My best regards
mofojo
2,170 posts
 
Speakers would be the obvious choice. Used 10bgramd would get you better than the Kantas IMO. 

I have been screaming a bit about my latest upgrade which was  dedicated power lines for under 500 bucks. Its a no sh.t upgrade if you haven't done yet. 
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oldhvymec
5,101 posts
 
Ok I got it.. Fixing the one bad hearing aid? :-)

That would fix a lot of problems..

Regards
cerrot's avatar
cerrot
1,700 posts
 
Get a turntable.
calvinandhobbes
272 posts
 
Two dirt-cheap suggestions costing under $100 that are night-and-day better to my ears.

1. Drop Tidal, get Qobuz
2. If you are streaming through WiFi, try using an Ethernet cable and turn off the WiFi. If you don't have an Ethernet port close to your audio system, try creating a remote Ethernet access port with a WiFi extender.

Your preferences might be different from mine, but Qobuz sounds better to me even on cheap desktop computer speakers. Moving to Ethernet from WiFi was also eye-opening in its quality difference. The sound quality through WiFi was not even in the same league as using an Ethernet cable.
miamiangler's avatar
miamiangler
34 posts
 
I recently bought a Lumin T2 and if was a huge upgrade from my NAD C658, maybe you could trade your D2.   Also since the upgraded I really appreciate the better sound of Qobuz over Tidal.  Could be a lower cost upgrade.
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