If you like your speakers, then I would keep them. B&W are nice speakers.
In my opinion, I would upgrade the preamp, then amp, first.
In my opinion, I would upgrade the preamp, then amp, first.
Helps me with long term system development.
Current setup:
Sources:vinyl,Deezer(16/24 Flac via Sonos), 24/96 Flac Files.
Wadia 321 DAC
Rogue RP-1 Pre
Rotel 1072 (class D)
Pro-Ject RPM1 (Sumiko Pearl)
B&W 684
Music (rock, some classic and Jazz, prog)
The recently added bits are the Wadia and the Rogue. The other components are in the cross hairs of a peasant’ish budget, over a period of time. This system was hodge podged together so going forward I would like a match things up a little better based on more technical info (amp and speakers). The Rogue is supposed to have a respectable phono stage so I thought about first jumping to a Pearl Blue Point cartridge or other high output product. Then the amp and speakers are next. I plan on staying with a class D amp as the hybrid approach (tube pre/Class D amp) fits my goals now. Proly stay with some type of tower speaker in the $2k range. Shooting for $1500 range on the amp. The PS Audio Class D offering is intriguing. Has anyone experienced the new PS Audio class D offering? I figure if I slid that in I would still have a wide range of speakers to choose from. One of the questions is if I went for the PS Audion amp what are good speakers to consider based on that amps specs?
So $500 and $,1500 amp gets me a upgrade and then replenish the funds for a set of speakers.
Should I start with the cartridge first or.....?
Just kinda looking for general soundboard type suggestions and thoughts.
Sources:vinyl,Deezer(16/24 Flac via Sonos), 24/96 Flac Files.
Wadia 321 DAC
Rogue RP-1 Pre
Rotel 1072 (class D)
Pro-Ject RPM1 (Sumiko Pearl)
B&W 684
Music (rock, some classic and Jazz, prog)
The recently added bits are the Wadia and the Rogue. The other components are in the cross hairs of a peasant’ish budget, over a period of time. This system was hodge podged together so going forward I would like a match things up a little better based on more technical info (amp and speakers). The Rogue is supposed to have a respectable phono stage so I thought about first jumping to a Pearl Blue Point cartridge or other high output product. Then the amp and speakers are next. I plan on staying with a class D amp as the hybrid approach (tube pre/Class D amp) fits my goals now. Proly stay with some type of tower speaker in the $2k range. Shooting for $1500 range on the amp. The PS Audio Class D offering is intriguing. Has anyone experienced the new PS Audio class D offering? I figure if I slid that in I would still have a wide range of speakers to choose from. One of the questions is if I went for the PS Audion amp what are good speakers to consider based on that amps specs?
So $500 and $,1500 amp gets me a upgrade and then replenish the funds for a set of speakers.
Should I start with the cartridge first or.....?
Just kinda looking for general soundboard type suggestions and thoughts.
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- 17 posts total
Hi Jbuhl - I have some experience with some of your setup and here are some thoughts. First of all let's talk about your speakers. I randomly picked up a pair of DM604s several years ago for only $250 on Craigslist and was really blown away by their performance especially considering what I paid for them. When I owned them, they were powered with a Class D 500 WPC amp and they sounded great. The reason that I bring them up is that I actually preferred them over the 684s that you have. I've since moved up the B&W range and have tried most of them. In my opinion, the biggest bang for the buck in the entire product range and within your budget is the seldom discussed Nautilus 703. Probably not their prettiest speaker but man they absolutely sound fantastic for what they cost. I seem to recall having picked up the pair that I had for around $800 (which was a good deal) about 6 years ago. They are a definite upgrade from where you are now. As far as amplification goes, I would stick with what you have for the time being and swap out the speakers first and then decide if you need to go a different direction with your amp - it's usually better to swap out components one at a time, assess the change, and then move forward rather than trying to change too much at the same time. Given your choice of B&W speakers and Class D, I would not recommend the Sumiko cartridge on your list. On paper it looks like a good deal (HOMC that will pair with your existing MM preamp input) but doubt that you'd be happy with it. I've had a couple of Blue Point #2s and find them to be fairly detailed, but also a bit thin, dry and not very involving. For just about more and with the Sumiko range, the Blue Point Special Evo III is in a completely different league - sounds much better. For your phono preamp input, anything around 2.5-4mv will work fine. In a similar price range as the Sumiko you mentioned, the Ortofon 2M Blue is actually a much better sounding cartridge than the BP2 in my opinion. I'm sure that there are plenty of MM and HOMC options that you'd find preferable to the BP2. Greg |
Put Vandersteen on your list for speakers! A FET solid state amp would go nice with the Rogue tube preamp! http://vandersteen.com/products/model-1ci http://www.avahifi.com/products/power-amplifiers/synergy-amplifiers |
- 17 posts total