Upgrade path


I’m very new to the hobby. In the past I’ve had home theater dedicated speakers, Sonos, various Bluetooth speakers, AirPods. This past summer I stopped by a hifi shop out of curiosity and the step up from what I was familiar with was huge. Here is what I ended up with: ProAc D2Rs (arriving soon - using borrowed Totem Signature One’s in the meantime), Naim Uniti Star, Technics SL-1210GR2, Rega Fono MM Mk 5, Audio-Technica VM540ML. The room is 15” x 20”, 9” ceilings. 

The temptation to start swapping stuff out is already strong, but I’m wary of tinkering without some long term plan (that’s already the second phono stage). So, what do people think is the most impactful change I could make? Add subs? A more powerful amp? Floorstanders? Have I already entered the world of small incremental improvements? 
 

 

rskey

Is this just a dedicated space or a full room ? If it’s just a space build a room if possible 

It’s a room (basement) that also has the biggest tv in the house. It’s shared space, so I’m somewhat constrained in the amount of tinkering I can do with the space. But some amount of room treatment is possible - thanks for all the suggestions along those lines. 
 

 

@rskey it's not surprising a post like this resulted in so many suggestions/opinions going off in so many different directions.  The fact of the matter is that you could do many, many things, depending upon what you ultimately hope to achieve.  So, I'll cut to the chase.  In a room of those dimensions, 40 watts of amp power is just not going to cut it if your aim is to fill it with concert or performance level sound.  That being said, keep in mind that one upgrade leads to another and then another and then another etc. 

A few thoughts on location. If you have an option to locate your system in a small room. I would take that any day before locating it in a big common area. If you have a small bedroom or bonus room. You will be able to listen more often. You will need to spend less on amplification and speakers... since you don’t have to fill as much volume to get dynamics. You will have to do more room treatments... but you will have freedom to do that since it is not a common room. 

I have a friend that took this advice... then really got into room treatment... Wow, his little room sounds spectacular. 

 

 

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