It’s a bit of fighting the addiction, but "in my experience," upgrades for upgrades sake are rarely successful - i.e. you are better off if you have a goal in mind.
I’ve found that your system will influence what you listen to - artists and genres - and then you’ll get into music that suggests the upgrade you might seek.
Beware all these expensive tweaks.
Don’t push on the gear side...it happens naturally enough...and keep your eye out for opportunities at local used audio shops. Explore and enjoy the music. |
Enjoy it. Buy music. Don’t feel you need to keep up with these humps here.
You’re done. |
+1 @ chorusUptone Audio Ether Regen $640. Should be an obvious uptick in sonic performance. YMMV. |
@ jomonhifiI agree that relative to to your Integrated amp and speakers, your DAC and cables are the weak link in your audio chain. Digital audio and especially DACs are sonically progressing very rapidly. Triode Wire Labs cables have great price/performance, but are below the performance levels of your audio chain. Both should be upgraded for best sonic gains. Also, you might want to update your conditioner. I’m not familiar with Transparent’s conditioner’s performance but it seems like older tech. Power conditioners performance have also improved significantly in the recent years. If possible, look for vendors who offer a free trial. Another option is to buy used- you can save $ significantly especially on used cables. You can resell it later without losing much $. If you want to get back into vinyl you should start another thread of seeking advice. You’ll need to address turntable, tonearm, cabling, cartridge, and phono preamp/stage. To match the quality of your amp+speakers it can get expensive depending how far you want to go. You can get a nice sounding vinyl chain for a few $thousands, but if you want the “fool you as real” sound you’ll have to spend significantly more, >$10k+. Also, if you get an high quality transparent vinyl chain you should consider an $1-4k ultrasonic vinyl cleaner which is considered the best way to clean vinyl. YMMV |
Uptone Audio Ether Regen $640. |
Hello, Where are the two JL Audio F110 subwoofers? I know a lot of people ask “How can that improve my speakers that go all the way down to 20hz? I swear it can. Hook them up and set the crossover at 60hz. You can get wireless kits for better placement. I just received 2 of these and the JL Audio CR1 subwoofer crossover. It will blow your mind. It should for $10k. If you want to try out some subwoofers and you live near the Chicagoland area this store lets you try before you buy. https://holmaudio.com/Also, For the fun of it try the Puritan PSM156 power conditioner. You can compare it to what you have. Then you can sell what you have because you will buy this power conditioner. Maybe start collecting albums again. When you get to 50 or 100 you can do some TT research. I’m going Linn Axis with a Dynavector 10x MC cart until I get my VPI Prime 21. |
As long as free advice is being given out, as soon as your done with the Sea Bass ala Ben, check out Darwin speaker cables. I think they still have the lowest capacitance in the market at 7.2pf/ft, which accounts for their speed and openness.
They don't believe in the myth that cables are tone controls and should just get the heck out of the way of the music. Practically everything else out there is just a variation on a theme.
There are vendors at audio shows that only use their cables so their stuff sounds good. Check out their design philosophy at their site and there's really no mumbo-jumbo, just how they see things and a peek into how they build them.
All the best,
Nonoise |
have you considered upgrading your DAC? Don’t get me wrong, the Aurender has a nice reputation, but is it in the same league as your amp and speakers? Purely on the basis of $, maybe not. A good friend of mine has dCS Bartok, and it’s extraordinary. I also agree with others about getting back into vinyl. Over 90% of my listening is vinyl. (Of course, i’ve also spent 15:1 on vinyl v digital.)
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If you are "absolutely thrilled with the sound of this system", there is only one question you need to answer. Will the tiny improvement in sound, that buying new equipment MIGHT give you, be completely drowned out by the sound of your money flying out the window???? I have personally dolled out thousands of dollars on the promise that I would hear the difference, only to end up with yet another upgrade to my system, but no discernable improvement to the sound. |
You can get much better resolution for Sure
with much better audio cables Wireworld 8 Platinum are night and day better that I can assure you if you truly want to get the most
out of it ,call Galen Carol audio ,hegices good deal if you buy
interconnects, and speaker cables together . With a system
of that quality your cables are your biggest weak link
and if your streamer has a dac output ,a external dac outut , in the $5k-6k range Denafrips Terminator+, Holo springs May KTE
or Audio Gd R7 HE MK2 ,with external 10 MHz master clock all
range all are substantially better on every level then the Aurender
in absolute terms . A great streamer ,Melco N10,then great dac
your system then would be on another level still ,having heard these all in depth including the Aurender A10 . My brother has the Gryphon Diablo300 great integrated amp he has the Great DCS Rossini dac which is the best I have heard under $50 k.. Having 40:years in audio and having owned a Audio store has given me many listening venues to compare gear with other Audiophile clubs.
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I would invest in better cables - Power, speaker and interconnects
- the Triode Wire Connectors are not doing justice to the Diablo and the rest of the rig
Take a look at Inakustik
Just my opinion - Steve |
OK
Compare Streaming Services
Stock-up on some good wine
Explore New Music
Fool around with $3000 speaker cables
Move the entire system into a larger room
Re-introduction to vinyl
Mostly what I’m hearing is to sit back and enjoy what I have…which is very sage advice indeed.
thank you all..! |
You can keep buying more sh*t just for the sake of buying more sh*t, or you can start exploring artists that you enjoy listening to, taking a deep dive into their musical repertoire, find out who their influences are and look into other artists who also fit your genre preferences. Then come back and see me in five or ten years. |
If all that gear is in a regular living space, and the speakers aren't in their optimal position, no additional spending or anything will make it sound
"better."
Those Sonus Faber's should be out in the room along with appropriate damping/diffusion throughout the room. |
I bet that Diablo jams! Now what? Go stock up on some good cabs. Your system will sound even better when you're drinking ;). |
Just in case, plan on room for a TT. To easily get back into Vinyl, this Direct Drive Audio Technica comes with cartridge mounted and aligned, you just select tracking force and matching anti-skate. https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT-LP120XUSB-Direct-Drive-Hi-Fidelity-Anti-Skate/dp/B07N3S4X3P...= It has a built-in optional phono eq, so you can use it with any line level input. I preferred this phono eq to a McIntosh C28 phono, it sounds darn good. Then, if you get hooked, off you go upgrade step one: get a spare headshell and a new cartridge with an advanced stylus shape; wider channel separation; and tighter channel balance. https://www.audio-technica.com/en-us/cartridges/type/moving-magnet/vm540ml-hAdvanced stylus shape cost more at first, however they last longer, so not much more really. - Spherical / Conical - 150hrs
- Elliptical - 250hrs
- Shibata/Line contact - 400hrs
- SAS/MicroRidge - 500hrs
https://www.sound-smith.com/articles/stylus-shape-informationnote: a few inexpensive tools and skills (you or a friend) are needed to mount and align any cartridge, the advanced stylus shapes need precision for maximum performance and reduce wear to LP grooves. upgrade two: new TT. Get an arm with removable headshell for existing and future cartridges, including an eventual Mono cartridge. |
I know… I’m really missing those albums. It was ages ago and I was moving around a lot for work, so I stored some 800 records in a friends garage and they got ruined by years of moisture. Very sad…
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Why in the world would you have gotten rid of all your vinyl and the equipment to play it? I just played a few records last night and was blown away by some of them, yes some don't sound great, but some sound excellent! Same with cd's or streaming....not all sound great...you just ditched some possibly irreplaceable recordings. I'll never understand why people do this. Music in all formats is how I roll...but when seriously listening, it is always vinyl. |
don’t do anything...changing the power conditioning will change the sound...if you can borrow 2 subs that might be a great thing to try, worked for me...with your floor standers you can get great bass with 2 subs...there is a great thread from a few years ago about 2subs with floor standers...Duke, the designer/seller of the swarm gives great advice on the 2 sub set up, worth a try... |
pedroeb Internal Reflection Control is B&W's middle name. Check out the real Nautilus, not the 800 series, although they do a great job, too. Some people actually like the bass augmentation of non-damped internals. I have even heard them say some wood is better than others.
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The silversmith fidelium cables come with a 30-day trial period not 2 weeks. |
1. Audition the different streaming services. They do not sound the same.
2. Reexamine your speaker placement and room acoustics.
3. Occasionally, connect a pair of lousy speakers to your system so you can remember how wonderful your system truly is. (How easily we forget.) |
Patent just expired on Vandersteen aero drivers… backwave reflection is real and IF you are sensitive to time and phase ( as some are ) matters..,
a pistonic driver also matters
glad you are happy !!! Enjoy the music |
I might get hung and quartered, but here goes.
I've never seen loudspeakers that adequately address internal reflections and have sufficient absorption to stop rear out of phase sound waves contaminating cone movement.
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"Now what?"
I'd say it's time to enjoy the music. |
Silversmith Fidelium speaker cables. Beat very pricy ones at a bargain price. 2 week trial period. A no brainer. |
All VERY good advice...!!
Thank You Guys..! |
Try Chilean Sea Bass ala Ben. 😀
They have the Dal Rae restaurant's recipe online.
I've made it and it's every bit as good. 👍
You'll forget about any improvements that you think you need to make.
All the best,
Nonoise |
“I am absolutely thrilled with the sound of this system”
You must be bored! Just sit back and enjoy your system….do you really wanna go down the rabbit hole (again) 😂
If yes, state your budget and we will be happy to oblige. |
Whoa...! I def need these..! Wish I had the room...! |
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Dedicated audio circuit. More room conditioning. |
The electrics in our house are about 15 years old. The Amazon Sign-Wave Battery Back-up is plugged into the wall and then the transparent power bank is lugged into that.
Did I answer your question correctly…? |
Do you have dedicated breakers and which AC outlets are you using? |
