2. cables
  3. 124809-13640

Confused: Should I Upgrade Cables or Amp first?

I currently have very long runs of Audio Art SC-5 speaker cable (about 20 feet) that, due to WAF issues, are routed through holes in the floor, under the house. I use MIT AVT speaker interfaces, in an attempt to compensate for resistance.

Speakers: Silverline 17.5 monitors. Components: modded Jolida JD100 tube cdp and modded Jolida JD302 tube (EL34) integrated. 

I can afford to put $2500 into the system at this point. I could re-route cables through a wall and relocate components into another room, thereby dramatically shortening cable runs to 10-12 feet and enabling bi-wiring. I could also afford to upgrade all cables. OR, I could leave cables alone and upgrade amp.

Which is likely to produce biggest improvement? 
stuartk

Showing 3 responses by jmcgrogan2

jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
@jafant , Jadis? Where do you see Jadis? He has Jolida, not Jadis.

I would ask first, what do you feel you are missing?
If you are happy with the sound, then just enjoy the music and spend the money on software, a vacation, or maybe a turntable.
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
@stuartk 50 wpc should be plenty of power for a 91 db speaker, assuming that the room is not unusually large and/or listening levels unusually loud.

Maybe what you are missing is a little bass? Maybe adding a subwoofer to the mix?
Otherwise I think your system seems fairly well balanced. Sure, you could get better speakers, then that usually drives you to get better sources, amps, cables, etc. The merry-go-round never ends for some.

If you are relatively happy, just enjoy the tunes and spend the money elsewhere.
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
jmcgrogan2-- yes, more bass would indeed be nice. The bass I have is well defined and relatively quick; it just doesn't extend down very far, as you have no doubt surmised.  Finding a place for a sub in our livingroom is the hard part (WAF).

A subwoofer doesn't have to be large, they make small ones too. And placement can be less stressful than regular speakers, since lower frequency notes are not an easily detectable source.

I had my wife accept a new "end table" in our living room. It's a larger subwoofer ((2) 12 inch woofers), but it is just basic black box. It is placed between our chairs, and has a cloth doily on top with a lamp and books. No one knows it is a subwoofer unless I tell them.
 I've seen subwoofers that have just one 8 inch woofer, they should be able to be easily hidden.
More to discover