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Remarkably better sound possible with just 1 system component change?

I could have posted this discussion to a few other categories but chose this one because discussions related to 2 of the 4 components in question belong here.

So it's been ~2.5 yrs since I purchased my current system. I did a lot of research at the time here on audiogon, but no auditioning, and put together a system that sounds very, very good to me.

While I have no complaints, the itch to upgrade has surfaced recently.

I am curious as to whether you guys think it will be possible for me to replace just 1 of my primary 4 components and obtain significantly better sound as a result. The more discernible and obvious the sound improvement, the better obviously. I am not looking for a marginal upgrade - I want dramatically better sound. And I am not looking to replace more than 1 component at this time. I am hoping to get a few ideas/candidates and then may decide to audition some of the recommendations before making a decision. Hopefully some of the upgrade paths are such no-brainers that I may even be able to take a leap of faith without auditioning. Note also that acoustic room treatments are not viable in my current listening location.
 
My current 4 part system:

1. Lumin D2 - 100% of my listening is streaming via Tidal
2. Mcintosh C2600 preamp
3. Mcintosh MC452 amp
4. Focal Kanta 2 speakers

Cables are Cardas Golden presence RCAs from the Lumin to C2600, Cardas Clear Cygnus XLRs from the C2600 to the MC452, and Kimber 8TC speaker cables to the Kantas.

Soundstaging, dynamics, imaging and overall clarity are all great. I have to say I love the Be tweeters. And the bass is punchy, tight, fast and certainly sufficient for my needs. Vocals and overall sound are warm, liquid smooth and analog-like, just the way I like it. (Forgive me if I've botched some of the characterizations - I'm no expert at this). The only thing I can think of that could use some improvement is the sound quality at lower volume levels, although that is not terribly important to me since most of my listening is in the 90+ Db range. Would be nice, though.

So while I do love the overall sound, surely dramatically better sound can be obtained via a 1 component swap? Budget is ~10k. Or will I need to spend more, or upgrade more than 1 component to achieve the desired result?

Thanks in advance for your time and thoughts.

chandybe

Showing 11 responses by mahgister

mahgister's avatar
mahgister
13,587 posts
 
What one can achieve through properly tuning a system is far more than can be done by throwing money at it.
A gold nugget that i discover also from my experience, more limited than yours, but anyway the same...

Thanks

My best regards
mahgister's avatar
mahgister
13,587 posts
 
I use only homemade device of my own.... NO buying....

There is no MAGIC in controlling vibrations, the electrical noise floor and room acoustic...

All those publicity about the way to create a Hi-Fi experience only with money are largely false...This come from SELLERS....

New design and costlier one are better than my vintage yes, but their margin of superiority cannot exceed the abyss between a well embedded audio system and one which is not well embedded in the mechanical, electrical and acoustical dimensions...

Almost nobody ever teach that on these forums but all people boast about the branded names of their choices for proof of superiority.... 😁 And they all boasted about their own without realizing that others are right also about their own favorite.....

It is ridiculous...Acting like sellers is not the way....

Yes some branded name are better, but the BASIC is not the recommendation of the "alleged"  best branded name, the basic is HOW to install an audio system, what i called a set of  embeddings controls....Not a " Tweak"....An embedding control is primary not a secondary addition... An embedding control is homemade and custom made for a SPECIFIC house and system and specific ears...An embedding control is devised by listening experiments...An embedding control is specific, a "tweak" is generic....

An embedding control cost peanuts....."tweak" cost money....





For the OP question if he want to change something and only one thing the ACOUSTIC settings of the room is the only upgrading possibility and the most powerful one after that the electrical noisy grid of the house and the vibrations/ resonance in the speakers mainly......... Any change of gear before these three set of controls will be a waste of money and an "illusory" upgrading with small benefits...

Rule number one: we must know the real working potential of what we already own before changing it.....

mahgister's avatar
mahgister
13,587 posts
 
«Noise of laughs are arrows or mirror»-Anonymus smith

«A laugh without context is a disease»- unknown doctor 
mahgister's avatar
mahgister
13,587 posts
 
A lot of suggestions offered. Unfortunately the bulk of them will NOT bring about a significant improvement. In fact unless the room acoustics are sorted the small but worth while potential of some of these suggestions will be lost in your room which leads people to refer to some as ’snake oil’
Many audio devices injustly qualified as"snake oil" are not working well because of the lack of controls in acoustic of the room....

No upgrade rival acoustical controls....

Electronic design upgrade dont lit a candle compared to acoustic controls in audio.....

But all magazines sell new "improved" electronic design not acoustic method....

At best they speak time to time about passive acoustic materials but passive treatment is NOT non electronic active controls, and these 2 are NOT electronic active controls either and must not be confused....The road is not a simple linear way....Ears reign supreme here, governing these correlations between passive treatment and the two kind of active controls; measuring device are only tool under ears supervision....

On my under 500 bucks system i can hear the vibraphone aural tone hues changing dynamic decay with each passing tone and the sound dont come from my speakers, why?

Not because my amplifier is a Sansui, not because my speakers are Mission Cyruss , not because of my Dac....They are only good products among many others....

Because acoustical controls are in place.... But it is VERY important dont forget mechanical and electrical controls.....Unbeknownst to most these 2 controls are on par in transforming power with acoustical controls.... All these controls i called audio system embeddings controls 😊

I only underline here the importance of the last post by lemonhaze....
mahgister's avatar
mahgister
13,587 posts
 
Where do you have your Schumann generators placed? Do they need to be 5 ft off the floor as suggested?




The best way to use the Schumann Generators is connected in a grid....I connected them to my resonators grids and i use my "golden plate" on them....

Height varying: 4 to 6 feet....

I use 11 of them around my listening position.... 😁

But only one ionizer (a non ozone one and silent one) will did also a very great impact....



My last device is very powerful:

A"Helmholtz-Fibonacci silent organ": a room tuner...

3 sets of ordinary brick with in each one 3 tubular copper plumber pipes with lenght near the golden ratio...

And too many other things to be described....

I am nuts but my audiophile experience is almost free for all....







«Their  Achille’s heel is that they must sell you something»- Anonymus Smith

mahgister's avatar
mahgister
13,587 posts
 
I can’t believe it no imbed or imbedding in this post this must be some kind of special occasion.
it is just that i realized that a new " word-concept" is too much for some brain.....Then sometimes for people afraid of a new word i try to keep the concept without using the "word"....

Some  need time....
mahgister's avatar
mahgister
13,587 posts
 
I use the term "snake oil" very carefully.. It may work VERY well in one place by doing something completely unintended, BUT resulting in a great change somewhere else..
I am on the same page than you.... And i will never complain about that...

My best to you....
mahgister's avatar
mahgister
13,587 posts
 
And artificial ficus trees are much more effective they the snake oil audiophile room treatments.
Thanks for your very interesting recommendation...Beautiful idea for adding diffuser....

But be cautious before judging what you think is "snake oil" and what is not....
mahgister's avatar
mahgister
13,587 posts
 
The point is, substantial improvement can just as easily come from a $10 k amp as it can from a $200 isolation transformer that you had already kicked under the bus. Or better yet, never even thought of trying in the first place!
Thanks for your interesting story and wise observation....
mahgister's avatar
mahgister
13,587 posts
 
Audio nowadays is no more electronic enginering first but acoustical engineering first....

A good electronic design is easy to buy, an acoutically dedicated room not so.....

Ignoring this simple fact is throwing money to the street ....

Anyway the street need it also.....

But..............


mahgister's avatar
mahgister
13,587 posts
 
If your speakers are already satisfying dont change them...

Upgrade cost lot of money because when people think about it it is most of the times because they dont know what to do out of desesperation with what they already own....

Learn how to embed your system acoustically in the right manner...But dont buy any costly solutions...It is more fun and you will learn way more creating your own devices....

Try my last experiment... Cost: nothing... Reward: a totally new system....

"Helmholtz-Fibonacci silent organ" A room tuner i devised myself with bricks and plumber pipes in one hour...If you have crafty hands you can make them esthetically beautiful.....

They work with a group of three bricks of three pipes which have a lenght approximating the golden ratio, then changing the way sound waves react to the normal pressure of the room...Helmholtz is the father of room correction and the golden ratio optimize the working of the resonators on all frequencies....You must choose the lenght of 2 sets near one another and the last set must be with more distance in lenght....i located 2 laterally to the speakers at some short distance and the bigger set behin my listening position, you could put it behind your Tv... 😉

Experiment with your room it is fun.....

I sell creativity, not products or market conditioning, or some electronic blathering about new upgrading product.....

Audio is mostly acoustical embeddings not electronic design first, after that it is electrical and mechanical embeddings...It is easy to buy a good electronic design now at low price, audio engineering is mature for the last 60 years....what is less easy is to found the right way to embed these good products....

Anyone with money can buy a good amplifier but how to embed it for his optimal working is not delivered with the instruction manual, sorry.....

Dont upgrade, except if you are in the obligation to do it, embed them well before any move....

My best ...
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