New speakers and guidance


I am retiring soon and I am going to reward myself by upgrading some of my equipment.  For a budget, I am looking to keep total cash outlays in the net $20k range meaning that I can go beyond $20k with any subsequent funds resulting from the sale of my existing equipment.   My current equipment is listed below for reference. 

I was at AXPONA last year and I listened to the Daedalus Apollos and Apollo 11s.  I absolutely loved the sound of them.  Compared to my existing system, they felt more dynamic and open which are two things that I am looking to improve upon.  They still retained a strong sense of presence and warmth that I enjoy with my current system.

My question is in regards to how best use said funds.  A couple of options come to mind:


  1. Purchase a new set of Apollos and upgrade phono pre to something like Herron or Coincident.

  2. Buy a used set of Daedalus Ulysses/Argos/Athenas and upgrade line stage, amp, phono pre and turntable. 


I appreciate the combined wisdom and advice from this wonderful forum!

 

Room:                18x21x10

Speakers:          Sonus Faber Cremona Auditors

Amp:                  McIntosh 275 mk IV

Line stage:          ARC LS5 mk II

Phone Pre:        ARC PH5 with GNSC mods

Turntable:          VPI Classic

Cartridge:          Dynavector XX2 mk 2    Enter your text ...
annika

Showing 1 response by tomic601

Congrats on your retirement and the good sense to celebrate it with something you love and can enjoy every day if you so choose ! I did something similar and upgraded to monoblocks when I retired - no regrets! The Herron is a solid value and while burned in a bit at factory will continue to improve. My tube rolling has so far not been rewarded. It does benefit from HRS isolation and a damper block over the toroidal.
i would encourage you to break the new speakers in before changing amps, consider experiment w taps - light loading can significantly alter sonics.
enjoy a long and happy retirement full of great music !
jim