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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
artemus_5's avatar
artemus_5
1,966 posts
 

IMO you have a mis-match with the speakers & amp. The speakers are very inefficient @ 85db. Your amp is 60wpc. I like lower powered amps IE 45-60wpc because they tend to sound better IMO. That 'my take  after 55 yrs of listening to high power & lower powered amps. I'll take the 60wppc every time. But you need more efficient speakers for that 60 wpc. You would be better off to use speakers with a 91+db efficiency. 85db like yours demand more power. I thought I agreed with @audiotroy  until I saw your speakers specs

nwres's avatar
nwres
236 posts
 

Any reccos for essential, not too invasive, room treatment? 

I have enjoyed building room treatments. If you are handy you might consider these.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HO7aeraKLsM&t=106s&ab_channel=InTheMix

mesch
3,510 posts
 

I would first make the adjustment on speaker placement for the best presentation you can achieve within your room using your current speakers/amplifier.  Then consider the purchase of new speakers. Keep in mind that you will then require a new amplifier in the near future. 

With the adjustment in speaker placement you are considering would your listening be more of a 'near field' one?  Namely where you would be close to the speakers  with most of the room surrounding the listening environment?  This is as much of an issue as actual room size. 

 

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