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What can I improve in my audio system for better s

I have lossless FLAC music ripped from cd's and music I purchased from HD tracks, I am using Macintosh MX 121 processor, Krell S1500 7 channel power amp, 7.1 SYSTEM, B&W 802D speakers for front and center, Monitor Audio for side and rare channels, Crystal and Audio Quest for interconnect and Tara Lab for Speaker cables. I am using JRiver to play this music from my computer, which resides on Lenovo Q180 small foot print PC with build in HDMI which is connected to my processor via this HDMI. I don't know why but I feel that this PC is the least expensive equipment I have, and is the weakest link in my entire system. There is nothing wrong with the system. But, it always bugs me that I can improve this weak link. I like the fact that while playing music I can see the album cover and track information on the monitor. But still I am curious to know, if possible, how I can improve the sound quality. Since I have a McIntosh processor with built in DAC, I don't want to add another DAC (by the way I tried using Moon DAC, it was no-ware close to McIntosh MX121, ended up selling it on eBay). I am not even sure, while using HDMI port does better sound card matters? Or can I enhance anything in my system to improve the sound quality or am I looking for unrealistic Magic? When I purchased this system, my friends were so surprised from the money I spent, there first question to me was "Does singer comes out of these speakers to sing for you?" I guess that's what I am expecting; I believe I am missing those emotions that we get from live performance.

Need a professional advice, please help.
trcns

Showing 3 responses by mapman

mapman's avatar
mapman
21,823 posts
 
You have good stuff. What aspects of the sound do you think need improving? How do you know what your target sound is or equivalently where yours is deficient? Have you heard some other system for reference? IS there any noticeable noise or distortion?

There is no absolute sound. Its often highly subjective what sounds better or best.

Some more info might help others make more useful suggestions.
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,823 posts
 
Also a system picture showing the physical layour would help. Often all that is needed for better sound is a better approach towards setup and dealing with room acoustics. Definitely a best practice to get that right first before changing anything.
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,823 posts
 
Honestly, for surround sound, you seem to be working with all good stuff. Not bad for two channel either. If the best 2-channel sound quality is of interest to you, you could probably do some things there for comparison.

Again it all depends on what the perceived weaknesses are and what the target is.

Definitely good advice to have a roadmap up front to get where you want in steps, but only change one thing at a time, one step at a time, and take plenty of time to assess each step along the way towards the goal.
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