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Unsettled and considering changing stuff

I honestly have no idea why but I got an itch lately to change my main system. Probably that damned trip to Vegas to see the toys at CES. To my ears my system is very good and I haven't really changed much recently. So why the hell change anything? Do you guys get bored with your setup every now and then and swap things out even though the system as a whole is putting out some good tunes? In keeping with the spirit of providing all the information needed for other members to provide an informed opinion...

We'll start with the room...My room is roughly 14' x 25', cathedral ceiling that goes from 8'(back wall where the speakers are) to 20' (listening position). Persian rug of some sort on the hardwood floor. The speakers are on the back wall (standard sheet rock construction) about 4' from the wall and 3' from the side walls (toed in slightly) and about 15' from my listening position. Got a leather couch in-between the speakers but the Logan's are tall and don't seem to suffer much from having the furniture there. Directly behind my listening position is a set of glass patio doors but I have heavy drapes to take care of that. I have hospital grade outlets for everything, other than that no room tweaks. This room is the family room so doing room treatments and such is out of the question (I've tried every sleazy angle to get her to give in, no luck at all), and there really is no other room I can set up my rig. All in all not that bad a room anyway.

Music? My music collection is about 800 CD's and roughly 2500 LP's. I listen to my turntable 50% of the time, CDP 30%, tuner 15%, tape deck 5%. I listen to a wide variety of music but generally spend about 70% of my time listening to rock, 20 % blues, 10% classical. My musical tastes run from grunge (think Rage Against the Machine) through to Steely Dan but I spend the majority of the time listening to the likes of Dire Straits, Steve Winwood, Blue Rodeo, Peter Gabriel, Roxy Music, Sting, etc... Yeah, I like vocal based music, preferably acoustic.

The current system (I never turn off any of my gear):

- Oracle Delphi MkIV, SME345 Arm, Grado Sonata Cartridge (marble base)
- Lehmann Black Cube Phono Preamplifier
- YBD CD Integre CD player (remote)
- Sansui TU-517 tuner
- Nakamichi RX-202 Cassette Deck
- Rega EAR headphone amp (used along with Senn 600's)
- Balanced Audio Technology VK30 Tube Preamplifier (with remote, EAR feet)
- Balanced Audio Technology VK500 amplifier (with BATPAK, EAR feet)
- Martin Logan Quest Z speakers
- Sennheiser HD600 headphones, Cardas cable
- (2) 5' Synergistic Research AC Reference power cords (preamplifier, phono stage)
- (1) YBA Diamond power cord (CD player)
- (2) Harmonic Technology Pro AC11 power cords (amplifier)
- (2) MIT Z-Cord II power cords (speakers)
- (2) Maple Audio Works Ambiance interconnect (Black Cube, CDP)
- (1) Transparent MusicLink interconnect cord (Tuner)
- (2) Phoenix Gold RCA-Balanced interconnect cable (Nakamichi Deck)
- Goertz Micropurl 25' Balanced interconnect (preamplifier to amplifier)
- Transparent MusicWave 10' Bi-Wire speaker cables (spades)
- Nitty Gritty 1.5Fi MkII record cleaning machine
- Custom built oak stand for source components, preamplifier, and music. Amplifier stand

So what's wrong with the set up? What don't I like? I guess I find it less involving than it ought to be, sounds good but doesn't draw me into the music they way I would like it to. Wonderful detail, but not engaging. I suspect maybe I ought to consider changing the speakers but I'm not a box-speaker fan at all. Maggies? Maybe consider the Avantegarde Uno? If I went this route I'd sell off the amp too cuz the Uno are powered speakers and have the added benefit of being designed to be used right up against the wall (they even sell wall mounting brackets for this purpose). Or stay off the merry-go-round and buy even more music?
jeffloistarca

Showing 4 responses by jeffloistarca

jeffloistarca OP
1,004 posts
 
Oh, left out the obvious. Part of the challenge; I would pay for any "upgrades" by selling off the current villain(s) for something else. No budget to throw some cash into the mix, but most of my gear is fairly pricey anyway and would fetch a fair buck on the open market.

Used is preferable to get the biggest bang for my hard earned buck. Thanks to all for their opinions!
jeffloistarca OP
1,004 posts
 
Some good suggestions and for the most part entertaining! Thanks guys. My Logan's are the Quest Z's if that makes any difference to anyone out there (more stable impedance than the original Quests). Yeah, those shows are evil. I fell in love with some big ass SoundLabs they had playing there, man are they a sweet speaker. The Quads are of interest, I know they had arcing problems with their early 'stats but I suspect they have solved this problem by now. I'll see if I can find a pair nearby to listen to. The Avantegarde's are intriguing; very low WAF though (they look like a jet engine) so they'd have to be a major step up to fight the noble battle of bringing them home. As for SACD, well that may be an avenue worth exploring at some point but really wouldn't help with all my current software.

I suspect I may be better off doing some more tweaking, the dots are a good suggestion. Tube rolling, yeah, I need to roll some more tubes in my preamp. Jeez this hobby is a curse at times!
jeffloistarca OP
1,004 posts
 
Sean,

I am leaning towards a new phono stage at some point. I'm budgeting $2000 for the phon stage, so I hafta come up with the extra $1500 to make the upgrade. In the meantime the Lehmann isn't too bad..

Rhljazz,

I do fool around with different gear all the time, particularly my home office system (also has a DR-8 amp BTW). Click on My Systems, they are all there. I'm probably due to swap stuff out and change things around a bit for a change. And tweak, I need to tweak more!
jeffloistarca OP
1,004 posts
 
Sd,

Wow, a very thought-provoking response, I appreciate you taking the time. If I had to try to verbalize what's missing in my system I'd have to say it's missing PRAT. This element is absent whether it's CDP or analog I'm listening to, which is why I was looking downstream to figure out what can be done.

Your cable theory is an interesting concept and makes some sense to me.... I do use the same interconnect for my key source components (CDP and 'table) and I'm very pleased with them. I did extensive cable comparisons before buying the Ambiance. I know Maple Audio isn't as well known as some of the other brands in the market but they are very very good interconnects at a very resonable price. Not to say there aren't better out there but the Maple's are really nice wire. The other interconnects in use were hand-me-downs as my system evolved; since the tuner and tape deck aren't critical front end sources I figure the interconnect isn't critical either. Kind of a "don't care" thing. The pre to amp interconnect, well trying to find a reasonably priced 25' balanced IC was next to impossible so I bought the Goertz wire and connectors and made'em myself. The improvement over the single ended ICS I had previously was HUGE!

I know my cartridge isn't as esoteric as others own, when I bought it I was licking my wounds from breaking yet another pickup trying to install it. Damn I hate when I do that. The Grados have the threaded body, a true God send. I think the upgraded power supply for the Lehmann is a good suggestion and won't break the bank. I'll likely begin there then consider doing something about the pickup, although as you point out the Sonata is not a bad cartridge in it's own right.

When I posted this thread I expected a few comments, I very much appreciate everyone's inputs!
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