Am I done yet? LOL


Things are sounding pretty good at the moment. The Dynaudio Contour 30i speakers are the latest addition and are working better in this room than the Maggie 3.7i speakers were. 

Usually, when I ask the wife to come listen, she'll sit for a song, maybe 2, then make a "that's nice" type a comment and leave. With the Dynaudio speakers, she stayed, and played song after song. She listened for over and hour and said she really really liked these speakers. Great to know the wife was pleased.  laugh

But the audiophile in me feels like there is more to be had. The amp & pre-amp are on my radar as the possible candidates for improvement. Any opinions on where to head next? (There's always a "next" isn't there?)

traudio

@jwgilbreath Probably around 8K budget. Separates or a top integrated like Accuphase....although I've read they are on the soft and romantic side which wouldn't suit me. 

Synergy is the key!!! Many poor suggestions mentioned here. Hardcore Audiophiles(those that listen/demo) know there is special synergy with Dynaudio and Simaudio(Moon).amplifiers. The 700i v2 will elevate the Contour 30i at a modest cost. 

@dayglow Sim Audio is on the radar. That's what the dealer who sold me these speakers was using. 

Congratulations. You’re almost done. You have what 80 percent of us don’t: a dedicated listening location. You probably take it for granted but this is at least fifty percent of success. From what you wrote, your only issue is with bass. You’re correct. This is predictable. You have a single sub in a large room if I am not mistaken. This is a classic problem. The good news is that you can easily solve it by replacing the big sub with three or four smaller ones. There are numerous articles about how to install them (read Dr. Earl Geddes papers). Also, bass in your room has very little to do with the rest of your equipment. It’s mostly about placement of the subwoofers, so you don’t need to upgrade anything. I have been there, done that. Read about it on line. There are hundreds of good articles about how to do it. Good luck. 

My limit buy a $40-50 k speaker 1-2 year old at less then 1/2 off 

and maybe $5k on a few digital cables and I am done just over $100 k retail 

is good enough , and synergy is there.that is what really counts.