2. amps-preamps
  3. 177434-170880

Changes to older system

My system is the following, electronics and speakers bought from the store where I worked through college and grad school in the late 80s and early 90s:

- Cambridge Audio CXN v1

- NAD 1600 preamp

- NAD 2200PE amp

- B&W Matrix 3 Series 2 speakers 

- Monster Cable interconnects and speaker cable

Overall I still enjoy the sound, but I’ve always thought it was bright and bass shy.

Where should I start to upgrade this rig?

- First and most obvious choice is cabling, but what?

- Second, Quirk Audio can upgrade the amp and preamp, but is it better to do that or buy new?

I’d like to stay in the $2k range per component - used or new.

ideal8592

Showing 3 responses by rickysnit

rickysnit
79 posts
 

Do you solder? I've been experimenting a lot with copper, cables, re-purposing and various sounds on mid-range equipment, much of it NAD too. A few days ago I made some jumper interconnects (pre-out/main-in) from 12AWG 240v rated Home Depot ROMEX and was very surprised with the results, a deep defined bass with light airy highs. I'd probably get beaten up by this post, but if you solder, it would be a $20 experiment which might surprise you and bring a completely new dimension to the equipment. It's cheap by the foot, and I'd give it a shot with the speakers too - it's a lot of copper (albeit not refined like OFC) but gives a maximum throughput.

rickysnit
79 posts
 

I’d throw these in, they’ll make the difference. I’d also find some thick OCC speaker cable, that will make a change for the better as well.

I’m a NAD fan too, always a great sound.

 

rickysnit
79 posts
 

Actually, wires are the last thing I’d worry about

Depends on if new equipment is desired. I used to take an equipment first approach, now to the point of tuning my equipment with cables. Once a non-believer in cables to sound, it's now one of the main things I've found to make a huge difference. Sometimes to the extent it sounds like I've swapped out the component..

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