New speakers and guidance


I am retiring soon and I am going to reward myself by upgrading some of my equipment.  For a budget, I am looking to keep total cash outlays in the net $20k range meaning that I can go beyond $20k with any subsequent funds resulting from the sale of my existing equipment.   My current equipment is listed below for reference. 

I was at AXPONA last year and I listened to the Daedalus Apollos and Apollo 11s.  I absolutely loved the sound of them.  Compared to my existing system, they felt more dynamic and open which are two things that I am looking to improve upon.  They still retained a strong sense of presence and warmth that I enjoy with my current system.

My question is in regards to how best use said funds.  A couple of options come to mind:


  1. Purchase a new set of Apollos and upgrade phono pre to something like Herron or Coincident.

  2. Buy a used set of Daedalus Ulysses/Argos/Athenas and upgrade line stage, amp, phono pre and turntable. 


I appreciate the combined wisdom and advice from this wonderful forum!

 

Room:                18x21x10

Speakers:          Sonus Faber Cremona Auditors

Amp:                  McIntosh 275 mk IV

Line stage:          ARC LS5 mk II

Phone Pre:        ARC PH5 with GNSC mods

Turntable:          VPI Classic

Cartridge:          Dynavector XX2 mk 2    Enter your text ...
annika
And why upgrade? You will have to work very hard and long to find suitable upgrades! Searching could be most of the fun.
@aburnhamuu 
I have been obsessing, er, researching about upgrades for the past couple of years already!  
Once the Apollos arrive and I get a feel for how they sound with my existing electronics, I can start the next phase of evaluating amp choices 😊.  
Yes, the researching is part of the journey... and a fun part at that....
I’m sure your choice will be great, remember, it’s not the,speakers per say, it’s our ears which need getting accustomed to a new pair of speakers.

Give them 250-300 hours of break,in before accessing their sound.







 As said 50x- my,speakers took me 300 hours to really get used to them.Even still, when listening after long periods without listening to my speakers, it still takes me a good 30-45 min to get accustomed to their laid back tone.

2nd system with old early to mid 90 pair of BIC V830’s, have a much more outgoing highs freq.
so when I listen upstairs to my Energy speakers, it takes a bit of listening to get my ears used to them.
once zeroed in,  they are heaven, and listening to the BIC’s is a bit harsh for a while, ago I’ll listen at low volume until I get accustomed to they’re tone.

take your time, enjoy the new speakers and retirement!
Congrats on your retirement and the good sense to celebrate it with something you love and can enjoy every day if you so choose ! I did something similar and upgraded to monoblocks when I retired - no regrets! The Herron is a solid value and while burned in a bit at factory will continue to improve. My tube rolling has so far not been rewarded. It does benefit from HRS isolation and a damper block over the toroidal.
i would encourage you to break the new speakers in before changing amps, consider experiment w taps - light loading can significantly alter sonics.
enjoy a long and happy retirement full of great music !
jim