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Room setting: new amp or new speakers?

hello gys,

My Hi-Fi journey is rolling on, and over the past few weeks, I’ve had the chance to dive into some amazing gear—like tube amps and high-efficiency speakers. It’s been super fun, but now I’ve hit a bit of a dilemma.

Here’s my current setup:

  • Amp: Yamaha AX-396, pretty old, low value

  • Speakers: Sonus Faber Venere 1.5 bookshelf speakers, definitely ’better’ than the amp

  • Streamer: Bluesound Node N130

I’m planning a big overhaul of my system, but I can’t decide what to upgrade first

A little more info:

  • Room size: 55m² (so, pretty spacious).

  • Current speaker placement: Sitting on a bookshelf, positioned to the side of the sofa (definitely not ideal) - see pic

  • Ideal setup: Properly placed speakers facing the sofa for proper sound.

My thoughts:

  • If I upgrade the amp first, I might squeeze more out of my current speakers - which are not as bad —but will their awkward placement limit the improvement?

  • Upgrading the speakers with floorstanding will come with new position + higher quality (2x the ROI?) AFAIK they account for big big part of the final sound. then will do the amp.

I’d love to hear what you think! Have you been in a similar spot? Which upgrade made the biggest difference for you?

Let me know your thoughts! thank you so much

albymana

Showing 1 response by devinplombier

devinplombier
403 posts
 

@albymana 

Since you're new to this, you might be best served by an incremental, cost-contained approach that lets you try new stuff yet feel free to dump it if it doesn't work out.

First, your speakers need to be freed from their bookshelf gulag. Set them on decent stands like Monoprice, which will leave change from your $100 bill. Listen to that and see what that does for your room. Change one thing at a time, then listen at length

Next comes a decent amp. Your little Yamaha is okay but not ideal. Get more power than you think you need and high current output which will help your current speakers and might well be required to properly drive your next pair.

Third comes a good sub. All bookshelf speakers need a good sub.

Then the rest will come in its own time. Enjoy! 

 

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