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What should my next upgrade be? Your best experience

I have the itch to upgrade my system now that I've been in it for a moment. I mostly stream (Deezer) or listen to CD/SACD content. I occasionally play vinyl but rarely, I'm sure I will continue to grow into it but am not looking to improve the TT now. I listen to mostly Classic Rock, Jazz, Blues, and Indie music. I'm listening to Talking Heads (live acoustic) as I write this. The Marantz PM-11s3 has zero issues pushing the Monitor Audio Silver 8s, it actually is a little over kill for them I think, as it has complete control of them, never losing its composure.  So there is zero chance the PM-11s3 is up for replacement at this point.
The room is 14'x40' with 12' ceilings. The system has no issue filling every inch and at high volumes so no issue there.

Current system is -

Marantz PM-11s3
Marantz UD7007
Marantz TT-42 
Sonos Connect
Monitor Audio Silver 8's
Analysis Plus Purple Oval 12 bi-wire
Tributaries 8AB XLR (UD7007 to PM-11s3)
Tributaries 2A RCA (Sonos to PM-11s3)
CyberPower Conditioner

The obvious direction, it seems to me, is speakers? But am I missing something? Would upgrading to a real audio quality conditioner with an upgraded power cable give me something more and set me in the right direction for future upgrades? 
Or am I not where I need to be with cables? Can I make a sonic improvement by upgrading speaker cables and/or interconnects while again getting myself in a good position for future upgrades?
I have to admit that this is the best system I've had and I do love every minute of listening to it.... Its fast, accurate, and punchy yet it has great sound stage and its not clinical. It has that Marantz sound/charm (warm but not clouded).
I know posts like this are common and beaten to death but my system is unique as it is mine and probably not exactly like anybody else's...
Never-the-less, I know I'm nowhere near where most of you are! And I know for a fact I have much less knowledge than most of you. I'd like to keep bettering my system, moving towards the personal listening nirvana if you will. So what direction would you head in if you were in my shoes?
264win

Showing 8 responses by willemj

willemj
1,036 posts
 
Coming back to your original question, I think the best upgrade would be to look into the room. Buy yourself a calibrated measurement microphone, download REW into your computer, and have a look at the in room frequency response. You may be horrified by the low frequency response. You can create an equalization curve in REW and apply that to your computer with something like Equalizer APO (a no cost option), and if you like the improvement, download it into a mini DSP so you can also use it with other sources. Obviously bass traps and the like are another option, but more costly and ugly.
willemj
1,036 posts
 
If there is a sonic difference it may come from a better DAC in your Marantz. However, other causes may be differences in signal level (louder sounds better) or because you may not be playing the same masterings (from what I understand you compared cd and streaming - they may be from different mastering). So it may not be quite so obvious that the Sonos DAC is the culprit.
From what I understand you can wire the Sonos into your ethernet network. That way you would be sending a digital signal to the Marantz and not use the Sonos' DAC.
willemj
1,036 posts
 
because....
willemj
1,036 posts
 
I think it is a pretty nicely balanced system without obvious weaknesses. You should investigate properly before assuming that the Sonos is the weakest link. And if it is, you can, I think, redirect its digital output to your Marantz. That digital output will be bitperfect, and hence cannot be improved upon. A higher resolution than what the Sonos can deliver is impossible with current streaming bitrates so that does not argue for discarding the Sonos either.
Apart from the equalization suggestion that I made earlier, and given the size of the room, you might also consider adding subwoofers. It made quite a difference in my system. Go for at least two, and perhaps even four, like the Audiokinesis Swarm system. If you do, also apply room eq like the Antimode 8033. The room is the weakest link in any system.
willemj
1,036 posts
 
https://www.stereophile.com/content/sonos-zp80-zp100-wifi-music-system-measurements
willemj
1,036 posts
 
I am not convinced about the Sonos' inferiority. You produce no data to substantiate that its output would be garbage. Also, there is as yet no solid evidence that the difference with the sound from the Marantz is due to a problem with the Sonos, even if it is obvious that the Marantz is very good. Rather than buy yet another DAC when you already have an excellent one in the Marantz, the simplest solution would be to direct the digital output from the Sonos to the network connected Marantz (but it may be tricky getting that to work). Also, I am not so convinced that digital components have particular power supply isues if they are well designed.
willemj
1,036 posts
 
Have you really tested the sound quality of the Sonos systematically?
willemj
1,036 posts
 
To be precise, I never said the Sonos is perfect. All I said was that to be sure the Sonos is the culprit, you have to dig a bit deeper for a properly done comparison. After all, the test data are excellent, and this is only redbook cd level. Without at least carefully matched levels (to within 0.2 dB) and near instantaneous comparison any conclusion is invalid.
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