Check out the innous Zin Mini MK III. Burn your CDs to a hard drive streamer. It organized my CD collection with album label icons. Also you can stream Deezer, Title, Qobuz and other providers. Play internet radio too. You can play any album as create play lists. The sound quality is excellent.
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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- 37 posts total
Try to find a used pair of Tyler Acoustics or Fritz speakers within your budget. Tylers are often available used for less than $1200 and they will smoke any $1000 speaker from a big name like KEF.
https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650165989-tyler-acoustics-u2-coax-monitor-pair/ Other than speakers, the best value upgrade would be to invest in room treatments, if you haven’t already.
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I saw no mention in your post of room treatments and speaker placement. Don't do anything until you've done that properly. If you still don't like the sound after that, then those speakers aren't for you. A great room setup can fix a lot of your issues, but a bad room setup will ruin even the best speakers you can buy. Laugh at the people telling you to buy new amps or cables. Their primed confirmation bias is blinding them to the reality of the science of sound. |
It can always be rewarding to wait and save up more money to get higher end components and speakers in the future but if your current budget is $1000 and you are eager to upgrade now there are some good choices out there for new budget Integrated Amps by NAD, Yamaha, Rotel and others for around $600 that would include a phono stage and possibly a DAC and you can get a nice pair of bookshelf speakers on the second hand market for under $500 like the Monitor Bronze 100's and you have upgraded your game near your current budget with something you will enjoy for the next year or two until you are ready to take the next step. |
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