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Advice on Speaker upgrade vs System Component Upgrade

Hi Audiogonners,

I'm getting a bit of an upgrade itch, and looking for some advice about which direction to go. My current system is in my profile - small room 11x11x8 but sounds pretty good. Dynaudio Heritage Specials with DIY Aleph 60s i just built (fun!) - nice warm mid range / bass which i've enjoyed (mostly speakers),  also have a Parasound JC5+ which is nice too. I'm tempted by some of the following speakers but not sure on room size being a challenge for full sized towers. 

I listen to a lot of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Bowie - classic vinyl, but mostly on the roon rather than my turntable as my vinyl collection is really small. I love the sound of both digital and vinyl - but my digital is pretty warm with the R2R and the 

Looking at stepping up to speakers in the 10-20k range new but buying second hand;

Wilson Audio Sabrina's - $10K ish on Audiogon

Sonos Faber Olympica Nova ii - $7K used at local dealer

Or would i get a better result upgrading something like the DAC or Streamer. I'm just a bit unsure. And yes I know that the two speakers are very different sound character with the Wilsons being super revealing and probably very hard to set up in my small room. I have Kef R11s in the living room with the JC5, which are much more neutral than the Dynaudios, but they also sound great. 

Anyway - just looking for some perspectives - I'd like to move up a level with detail / clarity while still keeping that musical mid range..

Thanks in advance

 

 

gmdodd

Showing 3 responses by soix

soix
10,178 posts
 

Congrats!  Keep us posted on your impressions of you could. 

soix
10,178 posts
 

I think you’re definitely on the right track dealing with your tough room first.  A lot of folks here say good things about GIK for both advice and products that aren’t astronomically priced, so they may be worth a call to pick their brains and maybe even get recommendations customized for your room.  Couldn’t hurt.  Best of luck!

soix
10,178 posts
 

A few thoughts…

First, that’s a tough room not only because it’s small but because it’s square — it’s a bass nightmare, and I would not try to shoehorn floorstanders in there because you’ll have to fight those issues and may not even be able to overcome it.  Before I got a house I had an apartment with a 13x13 living room and it was a disaster for bass issues.  Don’t do it.  
Next, if you’re not already, doing it, use the i2S connection from the Iris to your DAC.  I did this and it was transformative in terms of a lower noise floor, clarity, detail, and soundstage/imaging.  Everything just popped more within a clear 3D stage.  I got these results using this cheap $6 HDMI cable from Monoprice — I’m of the opinion the HDMI cable might not be that important as long as it’s as short as possible and preferably less than one foot (I got the 0.5 foot length).

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=13578

As mentioned above, bass traps in that room could improve things significantly.  Also, adding a couple small subs with room integration software like the SVS SB1000 Pro subs ($1150/pr with risk-free trial period including shipping both ways) might well be worth a try rather than struggling to wrestle floorstanders in there.  You’ll get the full-range experience, but the bass will be much more flexible and manageable, especially in your room.

On the more extreme side you could try speakers like these nice Joseph Audio Pulsar 2s that may be a bit more transparent and neutral. 
https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649977097-joseph-audio-pulsar-speakers-upgraded-to-pulsar-2-graphene-spec-in-late-22/

Last, if you’re looking for more detail/clarity the Aleph 60 may not be helping as it’s more on the warm/smooth side.  Have you tried the JC5 in that room?

Anyway, sorry for the brain dump but hope it at least gives you some things to chew on and hope it helps.  Best of luck in your quest!

 

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