newbie seeks direction


Hey all....
i'm building a hi-fi system, and would love some input on what directions I should be heading. Not looking for info on what to buy, just what to look for.

My goal:
stereo setup that can be expanded to 5.1 if need be.

my target$$: $5k and under

my likes: I like a big sound stage with pin-point accuracy in the stereo image. I do a lot of ambient recordings with a Soundfield microphone, so dimensional detail is of upmost importance to me.

my use:
I play either normal audio CD's, or 24bit 96kHz recordings off of my PC. This means I'll need an outboard DAC for those high-res recordings. I would love to find a single box that would do it all (a combo pre/amp/DAC). If there is something like this in the 2-3k range, please recomend brands/models so I can do the research.

So far, i've demoed a pair of Martin Logan Ascent speakers and they blew me away.
My buddy has a nice system consisting of a philips DVD 1000 (or something like that) > conrad johnoson pre > mccmormick DNA amp > vanderstein 2ce signiture series speakers. I like what I hear at his house, but I liked the Logans better. Those were coming off of B&K gear.

Next up is a pair of Sonus Faber Concherto home monitors w/a Rel sub. The retailer told me "I think you'll like this", but it's got a lot to go up against. I fell in love with that ML's right away. I'm told that monitors are better for imaging than towers...but i'm still buzzing from those Logans!

Any way, any insight or help would be appreciated. I know that within this price range things become much more of a prefference in sound. Some like chocolate vs. vanilla..etc.
128x128nickspicks

Showing 1 response by rangersaudio

5k ? Hmmm.
For your taste, I suggest the used combo:
Audio Physic Virgo II's - 2300
Adcom 750 preamp - 700
AES signature tube Superamp OR Adcom 5802 - 1000
Bel Canto 1.1 24/96 DAC - 500
CD/dvd player you have kicking around - free
AZ Satori spkr cables - 350
Supra EFF-ISL rca cable - 100

Later on, if you want to make it into a home theater with five channel, I would buy a denon 5600 or 5700 five channel receiver and an adcom 750 preamp. You can run the Denon into the processor loop of the adcom for the high quality front channels, and use the denon's amplifier to direct drive the center and rear channels. This will preserve your reference quality two channel, but add upper midfi five channel when you need it. You should have your dvd player go digital into the Denon and use it's DAC's for all five channels.

For two channel, have another transport such as a cheap phillips cdr 880. The BC takes both coax and toslink inputs. I would use the toslink input for your computer, and the COAX for your cd player. This is to eliminate electrical noise from your computer. The BC dac's are fairly impervious to quality of transport used. Much more than most DAC's I've used. You will have to call BC to verify that you can have these two inputs simultaneously connected. Some other considerations would be the Adcom 750 Cd player which take a COAX digital input for your computer, or a resolution audio CD-50. Of all choices, I would say the resolution audio will give you the best CD playback, followed by the BC, then the adcom.

If you want high quality five channel, the BAT vk-6200, the Pass Labs X-5, and the new Audio Research 150M amp are all wonderful sounding five channel amps. I don't know what to recommend for a quality five channel preamp. (Maybe a Krell HTS ? - I really don't have a meaningful recommendation)

On the choice of amps, I know the 15watt AES works quite well on AP Virgo's, but will not give you the slam of a solid state amp such as the 5802 (vastly underrated). My personal preference in lower cost systems is always to get a small tube amp for it's soundstaging and aliveness.

Disclaimer: I am a supra and pass labs dealer.