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Rethinking my set-up - Advice Welcome

I need some help.

A few years back I decided to dip my toe into the world of high-end audio. I found some very nice Taylor Audio Taylo speakers. The person I bought the Taylo speakers off suggested any old Rotel amp paired with a Rotel pre-amp would power these speakers nicely. The Taylor Taylo speakers have an impedance of 8 ohms (5 ohms minimum) and a sensitivity of 88d. ***You can probably tell I don’t know much about the technical aspects of these systems.

I ended up going to the Audiogon classifieds and purchased a used Rotel 990BX amp (200Wpc @ 8 ohms, 330 Wpc at 4 ohms) and a Rotel RC-1070 pre-amp.

I also have a pretty basic Sony CD player but will look to upgrade at some stage in the future (probably around Christmas). In recent years I have been buying SACD and FLAC files. I have a 24/98 portable DAC from my PC to my Rotel pre-amp for those saved FLAC files.

I have about $1000 I would be willing to spend on upgrading my system. I was just about to buy a Marantz UD7007 universal player, but figured I would ask the experts here and see if I would be better off investigating money in a new (or used) power amp or pre-amp or integrated. I listen to a lot of jazz and blues and wanted to see if I should upgrade any part of my system to improve my overall sound quality and musicality of my current system.

I have searched a ton of reviews but none can tell me what would best suit my set-up. Any advice, suggestions, abuse would all be welcome and very helpful. Thanks in advance!
edwinohea
13 responses Add your response
czarivey
5,946 posts
 
Since Russian electro-vacuum tubes had been manufactured in Putin-Land and also since US has right to invade and Russia don't.
akg_ca's avatar
akg_ca
2,237 posts
 
Since when has this audiophile hobby forum sunk down to a personal political rant forum?
Post removed 
edwinohea OP
4 posts
 
One route I was thinking was going with a good used integrated (like a Krell KAV 400 or 500) or pre (like the EE MiniMax or there's a nice Classe pre for sale on this site) and buying an Oppo 105 for the DAC and CD/SACD.

Oppo has a huge fan base online, so its very difficult to find an objective review. Does anyone have any experience with using Oppo for their music flies (mostly FLAC)?
mesch
3,481 posts
 
If it were me, I would be looking to buy a integrated amp (not much over 5 years old used) and a DAC and use the Sony CDP as a transport. Should not be difficult to sell the Rotel gear. As Czarivey indicated, define what you are hearing for with an upgrade and find an amp speaker combination that provides. A good quality DAC w/USB can be had in the ~$500 range.
schubert
7,386 posts
 
I have the Mini-Max integrated in my bedroom.
8 watts drive Rega S 1 OK.
Everything that EE makes is high quality.
For The money, perhaps best quality in Audio.

EE mini-max is THE cheapest quality pre there is and uses only 3 tubes which are easy to find and make it easy to get the sound YOU like. You might be satisisfied with your rotel amp.
Problem with ALL tube power amps IMO is crappy Chinese and Russian tubes! Personally, I would buy nothing from Putin land.
edwinohea OP
4 posts
 
Sorry about that. I did a Google search after your suggestion and for some reason was looking at EE's Mini Max DAC. The Pre seems to get rave reviews. For the music I listen to and the characteristics of my speakers it could be a great match.

How do you think my Rotel 990 amp would work with the EE Pre? It would seem to have plenty of power but its not great with low-freq (low end) sound. I'd eventually like to replace it too at some stage.

I see that EE has a few integrated amp. Does anyone have any experience with them?

Thanks agin for the suggestions..
schubert
7,386 posts
 
DAC?? The EE Mini-Max tubr pre is just a pre.
Show up on here for around 5-600 $ . Better than Classe
czarivey
5,946 posts
 
It would be more helpful to know what you're trying to achieve with upgrade. As far as I know Rotel units are harsh and have tendency to sound thin.
While I agree with presense of great preamp, integrated such as Krell KAV 400i is able to bring more body and refinement to your sound and could've been used as starter instead of Rotel stack. I'd consider Krell as jump-start upgrade to preamp and amp together.
Literally you'll spend less than you've planned after selling Rotel units making your short quick move to Krell.
I like it in all configurations: as preamp only or amp and as amp as whole thing.
Other than that, I'd wait perhaps for larger funds to invest.
edwinohea OP
4 posts
 
Thanks Schubert... I did some research on these units and it looks like they have come out with some new updates to that DAC. It all reads very promising and reviews glowing. The only concerns I would have it that I would loose out on the ability to connect a CD player to this pre-amp and for ~ $1000, with DAC specs changing so quickly, would it date that much more quickly?

I'm trying to decide if this DAC would be a better investment over a good used hi-end pre-amp. Potentially something that I can hope to have for many years to come. I would even be willing to spend up to $1,500 (I know, not alot on audiophile spend) on a pre-amp if its something that would stand the test of time!
edwinohea OP
4 posts
 
Thanks for your advice on focusing on the pre-amp to realize the most impact (musically, sound-stage, etc). That helps me refine my research.

I saw this Classe CP-47.5 for sale on this site. Would this be a good option for my speaker/amp set-up?

Is there anything specifically I should be looking out for in a new/used pre-amp?

Thanks again!
schubert
7,386 posts
 
Watch A'gon like a hawk and the first Eastern Electric Mini-Max tube preamp you see on here press buy it now so fast your finger hurts.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
Don't buy anything major right now. Save up and get a good preamp. Unless there's something wrong or mismatched with your other components, a preamp should make the biggest improvement in SQ.
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