I think you should get what mihorn is recommending. He says its the best in the world. It only costs $4000 new and he provides a link to a used one for only $990. And the best part is he's the seller. Who would have figured the best in the world can be had for $10 under your budget?
Seeking Advice to Improve My Audio System ($1000 Budget)
Hello everyone. I have started collecting physical media (mainly Classical Music, but also some Metal, and older singer/songwriter material) for a few years now, and have built up a collection that is mainly vinyl, but also some CDs. I have slowly built up a stereo system to support it. I am not very knowledgeable with audio equipment and feel like I am drowning in information, and so I have pieced together what there seems to be a consensus around with my budget. So far I have:
Audio Engine A5+ 150 W Speakers
REGA Planar Plus 1 Turntable with built in stage
SMSL PL200 CD Player
I use the RCA port for my turntable, and the aux port for my CD player.
Now I am wondering where I should go with my setup. I want my next investment to be around the $1000 range, but am not sure where to go with it. Should I get a woofer for the speakers and an external preamp for my turntable? Or at this price, am I better off looking for better speakers...or is there another weak point in my system? My main concerns are that the midrange and upper frequencies do sound muddy compared to other systems I have heard (but they aren't terrible) and while the bass isn't bad, it certainly could be enhanced.
As a final question, I am confused when it comes to the pre-amp. I don't quite understand how they work, and I am a bit confused and worried that I would run into an issue with my existing built-in preamp overriding an external one? Any advice?
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Okay, I think after some digging and from some recommendations on here (thank you to @yyzsantabarbara for a great place to start, you made things a lot easier.) I think I am settling towards saving a bit more and going for:
A Kef LS50 Meta and a Hegel H95. I see endless debate about this being enough to power it, but from what I have read, it seems it would be. And I can always sell upgrade the Hegel in the future, which would pave the way for an upgrade for the speaker. I like the idea of not putting all of my eggs into one basket with a powered speaker.
I have read some say that the Kef needs a subwoofer to get the full range for classical music, and so I think a KC62 will be the the next upgrade for that, but it sure is expensive. Now I have seen some say that there the Kef LS50 is "basically worthless" for Classical without a subwoofer, but I think this is an exaggeration (and that seems common on these forums!) and I gather that although I might lose a bit of bass from my Audio Engine A5+, the bass will be more distinctive, and I should notice a fairly large difference even without the subwoofer.
What do people think of this solution? Am I missing a piece of the puzzle? The price of the Hegel and the Kef would be around $3000 (I think I can find the Hegel for $500 cheaper), does anyone have a strong opinion on there being a better complete solution for that price? |
At 1,000 bucks it is difficult to buy good system ...But possible... I am happy with powered Edifier speakers but if i had money i will buy better one for sure...( My Sansui alpha can drive anything but for now i dont want to invest 1000 bucks on passive speakers alone i am happy with which i could achieve as secondary system (speakers) versus my main one (K340) ) How much cost a linear power supply ? I own a Chinese one very good at peanut cost... I am happy with it if it goes on for few years as now... (No power button on/off i disconnect it at night but it is a better than a IFI linear supply i paid almost 3 times the price) How much cost a good purifier ? I bought a Chinese one which work better than my Panamax for peanuts... How much cost a pre-amplifier equalizer ? I bought a Douk T8 for peanuts How much cost an acceptable dac ? I bought one from Douk the Q11 ... Peanuts costs... Now , the main important part, any speakers even in nearfield listening need acoustic corner control... ( i use Helmholtz resonators i make with different size tubes and tune, others acoustics controls could be needed relatively to your room parameters) All this will be not satisfying without clean power and a purifier is not enough, i make my own grounding boxes for all pieces of gear even the purifier and the linear power supply...
I hope i suggested to you some research clues... Acoustics controls matter at any speakers price, grounding method matter at all price... Others things matter but i dont want to write a long post...
For the same price i also own my main system which is headphone (AKG K340) Sansui alpha amp and Hidiz pro 80 dac... because i bought all this some years ago the total price of my 2 system do not exceed 1000 bucks by much... If i dont count all the minerals i used in my grounding boxes and my other homemade tweaks... To create a peanuts cost acceptable system ask for much time and experiments...
Purchasing any system at any price is not being an audiophile but being a consumer we must study and experiment... Read about acoustics concepts.... And grounding boxes homemade design... Others will advise you to spend more money... It will be an error... Study first and learn how to make the best with a 1000 bucks system... Replace the speakers you own if you are not happy by low cost one but better one... Upgrading without studying and thinking is not good idea...
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I realized that I forgot to mention that you should add the KC62 sub to the mix with either the LS50 Meta or the Maggies I mentioned. The KC62 sounds great and is fast. It is not a must but when added it takes the system to a better full-range sound. I have not looked up the price of the Hegel H95, but I will repeat here that you should seriously consider the Schitt Wotan amp at $2k. It sounds as good as the much more expensive Hegels I have heard (with KEF Blades for example). It has tremendous power, and I strongly believe it is as good as 3 $8k amps I owned (and sold). It just needs about 2 months of heavy play for the top end to settle. Another amp that I loved with the LS50 Meta is the Benchmark AHB2. This amp can be gotten for about $2.5 or less. It is excellent with the LS50. This amp has a top end like no other. It is not warm-ish like the Wotan. Both amps I mentioned have a home demo period if you buy from the manufacturer. The Benchmark LA4 preamp is what I have in my top system. I ended up with this one after going through a lot of preamps (up to $7k). The thing I like about the LA4 (or HPA4) preamps is that you do not hear it adding to the sound. The Kara F preamp I mentioned before is a good budget preamp but it adds a bit of warmth. the $2.5k LA4 preamp is as good as it gets for my tastes. Again, there is a home demo period with this preamp. Here is a link to a post describing the AHB2 (I totally agree).
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