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I hope I made good choices with new gear. Comments?

(Subtitled: Rabbit holes can run deep)

Synergy and such. It always worries me as I don’t have time for much trial and error.

Some of this appears in a recent thread elsewhere but it was getting off topic.

This all started out by me wanting a new TV. So I bought an LG 77" C5 OLED model. Well, then I decided I might as well redo the room it’s going in so that’s almost done.

 Gee, then I figured I need a new DVD player, a 4K one. I bought a Panasonic DP-UB820-K for that. It reads like it’s a pretty good unit for picture and sound. Of course with the long cable run from the TV to the rack holding the audio gear and DVD player, I would need a 30’ or so optical HDMI cable. Also long audio cables from the TV to the rack.

  My main audio system is also in the same room the TV is in. It’s mostly equipment I bought 36 years ago, save for the CD players. The amps are getting old and nobody around here works on them. So I purchased a pair of Cambridge Audio Edge M monoblocks. I figured I would use my old Harmon Kardon Citation 25 preamp with them. It’s compatible and still works. Nah, I ordered a Parasound Halo JC 2BP preamplifier today. Hey, those new components have XLR inputs and outputs! I bought some Audioquest Red River XLR cables for that.

 No way am I going to just plug all of this stuff into wall outlets. I bought a pair of APC BR1500MS2 uninterruptible power supplies to protect against power surges and brownouts. These do not provide enough battery power to run for any length of time but we have an emergency standby generator that kicks in in less than 10 seconds so it’s not an issue. 

 With all the new gear, I need someplace comfortable to sit. I found a good set of wing chairs on sale on the ’net. Also got a nice small narrow table to put between them to hold remotes and a drink. My new gear also needs a nice place to sit so I also purchased a Salamander Designs rack for it. 

 New and much longer SP6 speaker cables are currently on the burn-in machine at Morrow Audio. 

 All of this started with wanting a new TV and it just kept going, LOL! Oh well. Did I miss anything? Did I get anything that’s not going to work well together?  I did as much research as I could and it was quite a bit. Ya never know though.

Any and all input is greatly appreciated! Thank you all.

toddsyr
toddsyr's avatar
toddsyr OP
219 posts
 

Okay folks, I do listen and try to learn here. 

I researched my Harmon Kardon HD7600 CD player vs. what's available now. 

My HK is still relatively well regarded but the technology has improved and now I know in what way. I ordered a Benchmark Media DAC3 B DAC today to get with the times. I like what I read about the Benchmark product and it's a local company for me. Rory at Benchmark suggests I simply use my HK and Rotel CD11 Tribute players as transports. From what I understand, the best connection between the Benchmark DAC and the players is 75 ohm digital coaxial cable. Is this correct?

I am looking into a more modern transport as well. Any complaints about the Cambridge Audio CXC? 

@strawj  You're quite welcome. That's why I was leery all these years about giving up on my vintage gear. It still works 36 years after I bought it!

BTW, my Cambridge Audio Edge M monoblocks arrived today. Talk about nicely packed! THREE boxes inside one another, TWO slip cases for dust prevention and even felt covered corner protectors for shipping. Seemed like 15 minutes to unpack one. 

mahler123
3,991 posts
 

Cambridge Audio is a great company, imo.  Excellent products, decent customer support, not rock bottom cheap but affordable.  I own two of their streamers and a mm phono preamp 

sls883
1,054 posts
 

I suspect that the coaxial connection would be best.  You can use that to connect the Rotel or HK. 

Now that you have a dac, you can try an inexpensive streamer like the Bluesound Nano or one of the Wiim. 🙂 Those will give you good sound quality and you can decide if you like streaming without spending a lot.

Congrats on the new dac! 

buellrider97's avatar
buellrider97
943 posts
 

@toddsyr , Congratulations on your DAC purchase I think you made a good choice getting one. If you’re going with digital coax ( yes 75 ohm ) and you have Morrow already, I suggest getting one of theirs to try. If you want brighter get a coax with silver in it. Again I have a TT, a CD transport and an Oppo 105, and I stream 95% of the time. Take your time and enjoy the evolution of your system as it’s the journey not the destination. Happy Listening, Mike B. 

toddsyr's avatar
toddsyr OP
219 posts
 

Thanks for the input guys. 

@sls883  Maybe when I retire in 10 years I’ll check out streaming. I’ll have a lot more time then.

@buellrider97  Thanks for the congrats. I did my research once again. It looks like a nice durable DAC and it’s locally made. VERY transparent. My Parasound preamp and JBLs should add just enough warmth for my tastes. After a lot of reading, I bought a couple "Pangea Audio Premier SE Coaxial Digital Cables". My Benchmark Media DAC has two inputs for those and two more inputs using Toslink cables so I bought a "Pangea Audio Premier Optical Cable" also. Now I can run three (or 4) CD players/transports into my DAC. So...

I also ordered a "Shanling CT90 Premium CD Transport". That was another tough decision to research. Just about everything I looked at had one issue or another.

The Cambridge Audio CXC V2 may have trouble with older discs.

Jays Audio players can be noisy, even with a grinding sound and problems with the Pause going back to the beginning of a track instead of just resuming play.

Audiolabs tend to scratch CD’s, have problems with some discs, remote control issues etc.

I looked at many others too but you get the idea. 

 

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