Best return for the money, system upgrade suggestions please.

When you feel like another upgrade remember to experiment with ac isolation/conditioning. Best bang for buck is at the source. Something like “balanced power” like a Furnan or Equitech 2Q will be a permanent benefit whose value to your sound will increase over time as ac noise is constantly increasing and the balanced technology will never change, its basic to ac power. Perhaps check a website. Happy listening :)

Hi grm,

 it sounds like a lot of retired accounts have given you advice.  Lifes to short. Treat yourself on something you love. Its music. A dac would be my suggestion. Around 700.00 you'll find many to choose from. Hopefully you have a shop to listen and preview some gear.

Good luck 

DAC DAC DAC. 

Spend it on a streamer/DAC and then maybe add a schiit Multibit DAC for fun!

for your consideration 
Cambridge CNX
marantz Nd8006

Whoops looks like you already did this - good work!

Hello to everyone who posted suggestions, thank you!

OK, the most exciting news I have is my internship for the summer! I had a number of interviews, but the offer I accepted was from a company I knew little about. It came to me on behalf of the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI). The letter said they were pleased to inform me that I was selected as an SCI Scholar. I will be working for a Chemical company associated with DOW Chemical. I am receiving a very nice income and they are providing housing for me. I am a little nervous as it is two hours from home and I will be living on my own for the first time.

Now, considering my Audio System and where I ended up after receiving such great feedback.

1.  I replaced my Cambridge DACMAGIC Plus with a Cambridge AZURE 851N Network Streamer/DAC. I received it new from Cambridge for half of the retail price when I traded in my dead AZURE 850C CDP, I spent only $750 for it. I like it, I just hope it lasts!

2.  Speaker wire, the AQ type 4 sounded great in my system from the mid-range to the top end, sweet, open, airy, and detailed without being aggressive, but no extended Bass at all as well as not being able to play at higher volume from my Krell, my guess is it could not handle the current due to its small 15AWG. So with a budget of about $200 I bypassed many a great speaker cable from going up in the range of AQ and Kimber for example. So I researched and dove into Amazon where I tried four different cables from Beldin, Canare, Knukonceptz and Blue Jeans. All of these cables were 10AWG except for the Canare. It was a pain in the backside because all of them sounded very much alike with the exception of the Knukonceptz, where they had the deepest and most articulate bass, but, they were rolled off at the top, I just could not find a diamond in the rough for such low $$. So, I fond a solution that DID WORK, I bi-wired my Sonus Faber speakers! I connected the AQ type 4 to the tweeters and the 10AWG Knukonceptz to the woofers - sublime! I know I can do better with higher quality cables, (someday) but for now this works. I hope one day to try a higher end AQ, or Kimber, or something maybe from Audience, but right now they are just way out of my price range, especially as I need a 15' run.

Thanks again to everybody!!! Peace out!

grm