Whether you get the magic sound you are after by spending more money is always a difficult question as there are many variables including room set-up (ie, a great sound heard in one environment may not be so convincing in yours). Tweaking what you've got with cables, pc's and room conditioning may be a better path in the short term (although your profile indicates you may have done some of this already). Just to throw a curve ball, I just spent months auditioning high quality amps for my JM Labs 1027be's. Heard various Pass, Ayre, Cary, Krell, MF, Spectron and Simaudio integrated and separates. All with various things I liked and didnt like about them in my room. The greatest improvement though came from an Audio Logic DAC added to my system which I listened to only because the dealer had one with him when he picked up the Spectron. For me the solution was not what I was expecting and proved the value of experimenting widely in my own listenng environment. Good luck with the journey.
Simaudio I5 to separates?
I've been considering whether moving from my I5 to separates would be a worthwhile move. While I quite enjoy the sound from the I5, my only complaint would be a slight bloat in the upper bass/lower midrange area. Other than that, I really like its presentation.
That being said, I was quite taken aback upon hearing an all-Ayre system a year ago at the Montreal audio show - it was a full-5 system (ie, KX-5e, VX-5e and CX-5e). It had everything that I like about a high-end system - solid, authoritative bottom end, "you are there" liquid midrange and sparkling highs. The speakers were Sonus Faber Cremonas.
So...would my system take a significant step in that direction by moving to Ayre separates in place of my I5? Or would Sim's separates offer this same type of sound? Or am I going off on a wild goose chase, where I will spend a lot of $$ and not hear a lot of difference without also changing speakers?
Surely the I5 is popular, so if you had one and moved to separates - where did you go and what were the results?
FYI - my speakers are Totem Hawks, cdp is Ayre CX-7e, turntable is a Gyro SE with Graham 2.2 tonearm and Benz L2 cartridge with Sim LP5.3 phono stage.
That being said, I was quite taken aback upon hearing an all-Ayre system a year ago at the Montreal audio show - it was a full-5 system (ie, KX-5e, VX-5e and CX-5e). It had everything that I like about a high-end system - solid, authoritative bottom end, "you are there" liquid midrange and sparkling highs. The speakers were Sonus Faber Cremonas.
So...would my system take a significant step in that direction by moving to Ayre separates in place of my I5? Or would Sim's separates offer this same type of sound? Or am I going off on a wild goose chase, where I will spend a lot of $$ and not hear a lot of difference without also changing speakers?
Surely the I5 is popular, so if you had one and moved to separates - where did you go and what were the results?
FYI - my speakers are Totem Hawks, cdp is Ayre CX-7e, turntable is a Gyro SE with Graham 2.2 tonearm and Benz L2 cartridge with Sim LP5.3 phono stage.