a better digital front


Need I lil help here. I am in the very infantile stages of selecting my next "step up" up grade. So here is what I currently own front to back. Meridian508 24 bit cd PLAYER> Harmonic Tech magic link 2 (xlr ic)> Pass Labs x0.2 pre> Harmonic Tech magic link 2 (xlr)ic> Pass Labs x350.5 amp > Harmonic tech pro 11 speaker cables> Thiel 3.6. I am wanting to upgrade my digital front. My question is what would garner me, my desired objective? A dac? Could I use my Meridian as a suitable transport, in tangent with a worthy dac to acheive a stepped up improvement in audio quality (liquid, detailed, non-earfatigueing). As of yet I have not set a budjet boundrey as I would like to know all of my options from top to bottom. I could spend a good nickle on a digital front, while if that same nickle garnished me better results at the speaker end.
Here is what I am hearing: I am enjoying my sound greatly. However some times there in the music I hear some subtle barried detail that I can just barley hear deep down in the area that makes an "auiophile, a audiophile". May be timber decay or snare decay, or the voice harmony boundries that are just so ever almost there (defined, and seperate... but fused together do to the fact that there is just better gear out there to help raise more vails. I know the Thiel 3.6 is a far cry from where I want to go, how ever I'd like to first explore what I will need digitally to just bring out that WOW factor both NOW, and when I finally upgrade my THiels. Apples and Oranges I know. But some reason my gut says do the digital first, and speakers at some other point. I could be wrong and will entertain that notion.
But any purchase from this point on needs to be stepped up improvement. or I'll just stay with what I have. I hate spending hard earned cash for minimal improvemnts at this point. I'd rather spend 5k for the desired step up than 1k for minimal gain. There is a lot of areas for improvement here, and I'm at the point where I'm just gonna have to invest ,and I have to make good educated decesions in order to avoid the pit falls of high end mis-matching.kinda want to hear any and all opinions. KNowledge is power : ) thanks for reading
max_pain

Showing 1 response by max_pain

All, Very good advice indeed. And I want to thank you all for the "sound" advice. I do have room treatments in place per say. And this is a good point to bring up because it reinforces the very same same fact I try to drive home to others I must share space with. I'll be it I may have to compromise a plant for a big round bass absorbant.... I do have to move the coffee table during marathon listening session. Music? Well I indeed have quite the investmant there to, ranging across Genre's and the perspective. Yes we are limited to what has been laid the disc. In the past I had considerd and would love to own a TT, and the same holds true for the SACD.... But my mass collection being red book CD keeps me from just having to have. Cables and Power? now that is the meat of where, due to above advices is now where I am going to look into, though I have owned several ICs and speaker cables and the HT was or is what I considered a good enough cable for the moment. Maybe I've finally grown out of them. I had borrowed a Power condetioner in the past the only one I've tried but felt it but all the music too in my face forward and tunred things a bit NON_TRANSPARENT but will certainly intertain adice on a suitable condetioner at the momenyt I have none. I should have mentioned that I do use a Shunyata Python helix on my amp... and a home made power cable on my CD... both had good results so they're still in. NO I am not kicking and screaming that I want for the sake of wanting. I am stating that I am ready to make another step up and as you can see I have passafied my mind thought from a digital front to now yes, looking into my/a suitable power supply and perhaps cables. As was stated above... sometimes we spend a a k or two or three, hear a diferent sound and asume since you spent a k and you hear a differance it's an improvement. NO! I've since learned that lesson. I will and have made changes that didn't meet my tastes and passed the products along. Not always for the better, still wish I'd have kept some Cardes IC's but they have a good home in my friends system. I beleave there are still veils to be lifetd, I beleve I can still taylor my sound for the better to suit my tastes. I fell that I am ever soo close yet I am not there. Which has prompted this post.
Thank you all for som evry good advice, and Would like to continue to discuss plces for improvemnt. So I geuss it's now to ask current or former PAss, NMeridian, Thiel owners what the used to great success. I am looking for transparencie, liqued detail , ye pratt, and bass weight whic at the moment I am completlt satisfied, so don't want to sacrifice my low end less it's moree tight and deep. THanks for reading