Upgrading audio from speakers...Help!

I guess there is really no "right" way to upgrade your system. My thinking about agreeing with Alruhl was that if you start by making changes at the source and then work down you stand a better chance of hearing significant improvements along the way. If you voice your amp to the old pre-amp (which may be bright) and then replace the pre-amp with something more neutral you may think the pre-amp is at fault when really it's the amp. My comments about room acoustics should not be taken as "start here first." As a matter of fact I agree that room acoustics are very important to your setup and should be check at every step along the way. My point was to figure how much the room is contributing and how much the components are contributing. If you have a small room and the speakers seem to boom at say 80-100 Hz and the frequency directly corresponds to a room mode then it would be incorrect to assume the speakers are boomy. But if you plan to use no room acoustics then a mini-monitor may be the right way to go in order to use the room modes to your advantage. The point being do the research first and understand what you are doing. I am in the process of upgrading my system also. I am trying to pick relatively neutral components and speakers. The thought being that I can tweak the system in with cables and the final component. In my system I have a good front end (CAL Delta). I then purchased B&W N802, then a dCS Delius. Next I will replace the amps and then work on the cables and finally as a treat to myself I will add the dCS Purcell. If I didn't have a good source feeding the Delius I think I would have been less impressed. But after making those changes my amps are much happier. Better bass and imaging, etc. I can live with the system longer before having to make another change. But that's just the way it worked out in my system - yours may be different. Good luck.

What you're doing is very dangerous. Forums such as these can be entertaining and even informative, but the random opinions of others (myself included) will probably generate confusion. Nobody replying to your post will ever sit in your music room and hear music they way you do. Ultimately you will have to trust your own ears. With that out of the way, here's my opinion -- good move starting with the speakers. Other than the room. the speaker is the cornerstone of a system. Plan on spending 30% of your total budget on speakers. Next select an amplifier that is compatible with your speaker. Be careful not to over budget for your amplifier; allocate maybe 10%. Plan on spending an amount equal to your speaker outlay for a source component. Assuming you are going digital, then I strongly recommend you go with a CD or DAC that can be directly plugged into the power amp. This will eliminate your need for a preamp. The above components form the core of your system. At this point you still have 30% of your budget to play with. My suggestion is to spend this money on whatever makes your core components work their best. Cables, powerline conditions, room treatments, Feng Shui, whatever... One final note, plan on spending at least 10% of your budget on new music. After all, listening to music is the real point. Enjoy!

I am doing to do a follow up about not going backward. Going backward through the chain you will be.... (1)Picking room treatments that make your old equipment sound good. (2)Then picking speaker cables that make your old equipment sound good. (3)Then picking up an amp that makes you old CD Player, Turntable/Cartridge, and preamp sound good. (4)Getting a preamp that makes your old CD Player sound good. (5)Getting interconnect cables that make your old CD Player sound good. (6)Now you go out and get a $1500 to $3000 CD Player or Turntable/Cartridge and connect it to a system that makes your $200 CD Player or whatever sound good. But your listening room has been tuned for the old equipment, so you will have to start over with the room treatments in my mind if you want to achieve Sonic Nirvana. Maybe Alruhl is right and I am wrong, but I cannot see how? If you start with the source, you will then later pick the Preamp, Amp, Cables, etc that make the great source sound greater. Last you tweek your listening room to achieve Sonic Nirvana.

[email protected], you should post exactly what your other equipment is. That would help all of us decide what could benefit from change. You did not say so, but if the Legacy Focus speakers are brand new, you need to cool the testing until they get broken in. You could chase a problem that time will change, and these speakers change a lot with at least 150 hours on them.

I'm sorry, but I really have to disagree with the theories listed above. I think you are absolutely right, you start with the speakers and work back. Also, with all the changes going on in the digital world, one would be well advised not to commit large sums of money. It sounds like you may be listening to a lot of vinyl, so that might not apply. Legacy Focus, a fine choice I might add, but watch out for overwhelming bass, especially if your listening room is not large. You will probably find your room acooustical treatments first focusing on corner (bass) traps to keep it from getting muddy. My suggestion would be to pick proper amps next, and keep in mind that these are very efficient speakers that don't need all that much power to achieve excellent results. In short, I would go for quality watts, not quantity. These can be well run with even modestly powered tube amps. With a good preamp then added to your system, you could easily integrate almost any decent source components with great results. FYI: I am driving Legacy SigIII's with Counterpoint NP400's that have been heavily modified by original designer, Michael Elliot, and am extremely pleased with the results.

I think before throwing acoustic treatments at the room you should do some research and understand what your room is doing for you and against you. I started with reading the book "The Master Handbook of Acoustics" by F. Alton Everest. This book really helped me get a grasp on the fundamentals of room acoustics. I have to agree with the previous post. If your sources are not up to the task of your new speakers then it won't matter what you change. As far as room acoustics go you can do a lot yourself just by understanding the room and how it interacts with your speakers. I am a big fan of a difussion.

I would not go backward through the chain. I would start with the source (CD Player or Turntable). If the source is bad then so will the rest of the chain. If you compare and purchased backward through the chain with an inferior source, you may not be happy in the end when you pick up a good source. You may find that the earlier choices further down the chain were not what you intended. With the proper source purchased first, the rest of the chain will fall into place a lot easier.

I would not go backward through the chain. I would start with the source (CD Player or Turntable). If the source is bad then so will the rest of the chain. If you compare and purchased backward through the chain with an inferior source, you may not be happy in the end when you pick up a good source. You may find that the earlier choices further down the chain were not what you intended. With the proper source purchased first, the rest of the chain will fall into place a lot easier.