1. Home
  2. speakers
  3. 195906-208193

Upgrade my HiFi setup!

Hi all,
I’m looking for some suggestions on an upgrade. 
I have a 10 SQM (3.5x2.9) acoustic room with Kef LS50 powered by Rega Brio just for music listening. 
I want to upgrade it. Budget about $10K. 

I thought about Monitor Audio G6 Gold 300 + Roksan Caspian 4G (the streaming version with the BluOS). 

What do you think, does someone have any suggestion?
I’m mainly listening to electronic music and hip hop but sometimes find myself listening to rock, live music and other genres. 

Thanks in advance for any help 🙂

nadav1ktz
zlone
1,321 posts
 

I used to have the LS50’s in a room the same size as yours, they are a great speaker. It is challenging to find replacement that is that good and also won’t overpower the room. I was successful in adding a subwoofer to that system and had fairly well balanced sound.

The Rega is woefully underpowered for those speakers, especially given your preferred genres. I would keep the speakers for now, add a subwoofer, I had a REL 7i, and consider an amplifier upgrade. On top of that get a separate streamer and DAC. All of this you could do for under $10k, especially on the used market, and significantly upgrade your system.

 

zlone
1,321 posts
 

For the record I went from the LS50’s to a used set of KEF Reference One’s. They were a bit much for that room as they need to be out from the wall a bit. If you like the LS50 sound, the Ref’s are just an amazing upgrade.

erik_squires
17,538 posts
 

Personally I think Monitor Audio is highly underrated/undervalued, but I don't think the sound will be the same.  The mid-treble in particular will be different and you should be sure of your choices. 

nadav1ktz OP
4 posts
 

Thanks for your help guys!

yyzsantabarbara
5,550 posts
 

You can add the KEF KC62 sub to the mix and get the LS50 Meta. That is a surprisingly great sound in a small-ish space. 

I replaced the LS50 Meta + KC62 sub with the Magnepan LRS+ and then the  Magnepan Mini. I went to smaller office spaces. The Magnepan Mini is using the same panel as the 3,7 but much smaller.

I think the following would be great:

  • Magnepan 3.7 speakers (used)
  • Schitt Audio Wotan amp ($2k)
  • Benchmark LA4 preamp ($2.5k or less used)
  • Schitt Byggi DAC ($3.5k) (has a digital volume control as an option)
  • Benchmark XLR & RCA interconnects (low cost and great for Benchmark and Schitt)

My office setup is the same except I have the Mini speakers. This thing sounds so good. Do not be fooled by the low cost of the Wotan amp, it is superb, but it needs a lot of play to settle into my current sound. I do not have the Schitt Byggi DAC yet, I am in the queue to get it in the next few weeks. I have the Schitt Yggi+ OG on my office system and if they still sold it I would easily reconned it over the unheard Byggi. Though rumors are that the Byggi is the best DAC they ever made.

BTW - I recently heard a preamp that I liked better than the LA4. That was a tube preamp which was as detailed as the LA4 but with tubes. It cost $33k.

I also heard a tube DAC that I liked better than the Yggi+ OG DAC, but that DAC cost $24k. Only 2 items I would consider changing the LA4 or Yggi+ OG DACs for. Luckily, I cannot afford them.

More to discover