Does an upgrade make sense?


I may be coming down with the upgrade bug, and I’m open to suggestions. I’m quite happy with what I have—excellent imaging, musicality, dynamics. Maybe I could use a little more depth (left right is fine and speakers truly disappear), and maybe a touch more dynamics.

Almost everything I listen to is Qobuz streaming or hi res and flac files from a NAS (hard drive). My system:

Cambridge 851 Streamer/DAC

Bel Canto Pre5

Bel Canto Ref 500 monoblocks

Dali Mentor 6 floorstanders

Everything sits on maple plinths, Gaia iiis, or pucks.

Cabling is mid range Morrows. I previously had Kimber KS1116s but sold them as the Morrows sounded just as good, on the current set up.

What do I need to get more of everything? Speakers? DAC, Streamer? Amp?

tomaswv

Showing 2 responses by socalml528

Ha! Me too! But I may have the cure for you. Change the way you listen; change something in the room, change the positioning of your equipment. Change before you buy anything. Read "Get Better Sound" and see if there’s anything in there that might trigger an idea. Call the author; he answers the phone.

I got this epiphany from my auto mechanic (side story at end). But the fact is if you listen differently, at a new time or without glasses and reading material or iphone/ipad present, you might hear differently and hear more. Same for other minor changes.

Its a human factor that the familiar becomes mundane. We must work to appreciate what’s in front of us (not going down the marriage tunnel).

Side story: I was speaking with my auto mechanic and he told me that most of the upgrades he does really never fully satisfy the customer prone to upgrading; just makes them want more. After a month they want another 5% and spend big chasing it.

His advice was don’t drive your car as much or drive differently. I was unable to drive my car for a month because of an injury. When I got back in I was surprised at how fast it felt, the handling better than I remember. This also works if I change the way I drive; no radio, windows down, no AC (at night). It just feels different; more engaging, less mundane / less familiar.

All of the above intended kindly, please forgive my humor if you don’t agree.

All the above 😉, add getting ears cleaned!  Listening late at night in dark environment, clearing the mind of distractions/thoughts.  Listening as a skill vs. a passive activity.  Trying a new artist or genre of music.  All good things to try.