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The Next Step - what would you do?

Dear Audiogoners,

i'm sitting here listening to my setup, and realising my last thread has lost relevance.

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?cspkr&1260210396&read&keyw&zzthiel=cs0=5

i have a choice to make now, after about 15 years of slow, consistent upgrading. i need to take my system to the next level. i'm sure we've all been there at one point or another. so my current system is:

Pass Labs Aleph 5
Pass Labs D1
CEC CD2100 [running Supra AES/EBU]
Thiel CS 0.5
MIT MH-750 speaker leads
budget XLR leads otherwise

so i see the choices as follows:
1. get an amp with more current, and bigger thiel speakers
2. move to bigger, more sensitive speakers [spendor SP100, big proacs]
3. get a new girlfriend

all perfectly viable choices, but i'm sure both 1. or 2. would be less expensive. i've run the gamut of musical styles, but as i get older, and my hifi becomes more resolving, i find myself drawn to recordings of un-amplified instruments, such as old jazz recordings. still, i like a little thump now and then, any system should be reasonably flexible.

So, Audiogoners, what would YOU do, and why??

all the best!
David
skickaskinka
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,142 posts
 
Before doing anything else, experiment with a better quality balanced cable between your D/A and amp. It could easily solve your resolution problem and really help with the dynamics too.
jallen
502 posts
 
More information needed. How large is your room, how well damped is it, how far from the back wall can you have speakers, and how loud do you listen to music? There are a lot of choices you have besides the girlfriend (which would clearly be more complicated)even by audiophile standards, so before making any recommendations, I would like to know what have you've heard that you liked and disliked. Have you been to CES? It would be helpful to know if you like horn,panel, dynamic speaker, monitor, etc. type of sound. I listen to Magnepan 3.6, 20.1, Avantgard, Avalon Eidolon, Vandersteen, ProAc, Monitor Audio, legacy Whisper Signature, custom 107dB sensitive horns in our audiophile club. Thus, I can say that they all have merit, but personal preference will dictate the ultimate direction chosen. Jallen
buconero117
2,311 posts
 
Change the speaker first and hold on to the other equipment until that part of the upgrade is done.
Post removed 
2chnlben
595 posts
 
If you really want to have fun again; I mean fun like when you first entered into this hobby, like a proverbial shot-in-the-arm, a renewed interest as intense as ever before, then you must look into, research and find out all there is to know about, high-end music servers. I see that you’re embracing digital (not pursuing analog), so why not take your digital system to the next level. Straight digital files, when “played” via really good servers (i.e.: DACs) sound every bit as good as what any CD player can accomplish (and there will be more and more options/solutions – “DACs” available in the near future to choose from).

You owe it to yourself to experience this unbelievable (“new”) format. The future will bring true DSD streaming capabilities and the current high definition digital files already surpass anything on standard CD. This is all icing on the cake, because you can still hear your current library of Redbook CDs as you’ve never heard them before – from your chair, never having to place another CD in the transport, with access to as many songs, in any order that you wish, with absolutely no loss of fidelity or musicality.

Keep your current components (amp, speakers…) and put together a high-end music server. I swear that you will be utterly amazed – ask (ANYONE) who has made the transition for their opinions – especially the way they felt once they actually sat down and interfaced with the music…
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