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

Agree with getting your room setup first.  It will have the most impact on what you hear coming out of your system.  I would then upgrade your source.  Moving from the Bluesound Node N130 to an Innuos Zen Mk3 streamer and a Holo Audio Cyan 2 DAC made my speakers sound different.  So much more detailed.  Hearing things I didn’t before with the same setup.  Changing the source had More impact for me than the preamp, amp and cables.  I also play CDs and upgrading the player didn’t have as much impact as changing the streamer and DAC.  Next the speakers.  Suggest floor standing with your room to fill the space with sound.  A good pair can work without a sub unless you need the room to shake for movies.  I have a pair of Arendal 1723 towers.  Finally, Make sure your amp can power the speakers you choose so they can produce the volume you want at no more than 50% volume setting, to prevent clipping. What you get will depend on your budget.

In my experience the 3 most important factors are:

1. Room setup 

2. Source - most importantly for streaming 

3. Speakers

Enjoy your new musical journey.  It’s a fun part of this hobby.  And as Hans says, enjoy the music!  

As I heard (paraphrased) once visiting a guy from a now defunct local audio club

"if you can't do placement of your speakers which allows them to perform in your space, save your money, get a good source, good amp and some really nice wired headphones".

You are getting contradictory information from different sources approaching the problem from different angles.

Start with speakers and their placement. You have a lifetime thereafter to audition various streamers, DACs, preamps, amps, and cables/ICs. Your question is like an equation requiring a constant. Let the speakers and their placement be the constant. Every component prior in the chain is a variable which you can spend forever tweaking to your preference. Or think of it as building a house. Speakers & their placement are the foundation; finish carpentry might be DAC X vs DAC Y vs. DAC Z, which is where I have landed after 10 years.

I agree that speakers should come first and it is essential that you get them properly placed, hopefully in a properly treated room. I would then consider a preamp or if you’re inclined towards an integrated that would be next. I like separates, probably most people here do, but there are some advantages to integrated and I think just in the last few years, there are some really good ones that have come to market. 
 

do your best to listen before you buy, and in your own room if that is possible which is not always the case. Folks will usually suggest what they have bought and that can be helpful, but this is incredibly subjective. A sound that pleases me, may not to be to your taste. It took me longer than it should have to learn that simple fact. I would be looking for equipment and people I respect would say oh that’s too bright or that is veiled and I would think that’s not at all how I hear it. There must be something that I’m missing. It turns out that we all just have different taste and you should trust your own ears. Some people like chocolate and some people like strawberry.

I’ve remade my system a couple of times over the last fee years and three changes made a really substantial difference: 1. A significant upgrade in speakers. 2. A significant upgrade in the preamplifier  3. Getting my room properly treated
 

Other upgrades have brought improvements, but far more subtle than these three. That’s been my experience, others may differ.

 

Good luck and keep us posted on what you do

 

@albymana I’m three years or so in to my adventure of exploring HiFi as a hobby/passion. I got intrigued listening to a friend’s system who I think had seven sets of speakers set up in one room; he was only playing two of them, but I couldn’t tell which ones —they had all disappeared! The only thing in the room was the sound of the music. I thought, I want that! I agree with the advice of several before me.

After acquiring several sets of used speakers myself now, along with both tube and solid state preamps and amps, when I’m listening, I find the source is the most important. 
Another way of putting it:

1. You’re listening to music, but you’re hearing the room. 

Take away: Fit the speakers to the room and treat the room as necessary. This step assumes you have enough power in your amp to power your speakers. I would consider getting an integrated (amp+preamp) for the synergy & simplicity at this point. 
2. Secure the highest quality source you can procure, after deciding digital or analog. If digital, spend/select the DAC. Might want to keep DAC separate, or buy higher end item in which DAC function is integrated. If analog, don’t skimp on the phono stage. I wouldn’t advise doing both at once. 

Takeaway: You can’t make a poor signal sound better with a bigger amp; better sound depends upon removing noise and distortion, the task begins at the source. 
3. Enjoy and experiment. Upgrade cables. Try different speakers (once you know your room). Try separates for amplification and/or DAC functions. Upgrade the power supplies if some of your components use bricks or switching power supplies. 
Takeaway: The only person you have to please is yourself. (per Andrew Robinson)