some rookie questions

Thanks again Tweak will follow up on your advice

Easy Peasy:  get a coax cable (see link below) mine is1.5m, but the 2.0m is good, too. It connects between your Technics SUG700 digital coax input from the transport coax out. I think it is directional. You can buy direct from AA and still get free shipping. If you need to, you can use the Marantz as a transport, but it won't hold a candle to the Audiolab, which is a high end audio bargain

hth

Tweak1  Thank you for the advice I read the review Let me ask you since the sug700 has a good DAC per reviews therefore would I need another DAC since the transport would be run thru the sug700 (see a rookie question lol).

IMHO, you haven't heard your system yet. Getting the most from any system (yours is quite good for anyone, let alone a "rookie), one should start with the source, if it isn't as good as the rest of your system, it becomes the limiting factor. First thing to upgrade is your CD player. I just picked up a barely used Audiolab 6000 CDT, a transport, which means you also need a dac and a digital cable. The review I provided is quite thorough, using a variety of very inexpensive dacs but finishing with a very high quality dac.

HTH

So someone tell me what the 0, -5,  -10, +5,+10, actually mean? LOL I think I found it in a very detailed engineering mathematical explanation online suffice it to say thisMIGHT be what it means correct me if I'm wrong.

dB RULES OF THUMB:
Double the power: +3 dB
Halve the power: -3 dB
Ten times the power: +10 dB
One tenth the power: -10 dB
100 times the power: +20 dB
1/100 the power : -20 dB

Fuzztone 80 dB no sweat, 90 dB still below 0 with occasional spikes into -5 region on some notes but I'm only 8 ft away so no need to go that loud even with led zepplin lol. The sug700 may not be a perfect match but man that's is a good integrated amp picked up on here for 1700 from a guy who had it 3 months then decided to go separates.It's nice to have that type of disposable income.

while the match may not be ideal power wise if you are an SS guy like me in a near field listening situation it sounds freaking great except the sound is just not as big as my older floor standing 2c mk2 Snells ( loved those speakers) ,but it blows away those Snells in all other respect.

You can't clip speakers. Typically an underpowered amp "flat lines" or "squares off" frying the tweeter coil(s). So I would stay away from 80+ dB with your setup.

Tone control IS EQ. The best place for a Loki is a tape or processor loop. I have both. 

What's in your wallet?

Last I checked my average listening was at 65-70dB. 12’ x 16’ room, I sit about 8’ away. Speakers are raked back which makes them fill the room and sound louder.

I typically listen in the low 70db range. High 70’s sometimes. Most of the folks I know will only occasionally listen in the 80’s. But I think the better the sound quality the lower the volume… that has been my experience.

Virtually all speakers have a sweetspot… it can be only about the size of your head with planar speakers and open up considerably to be a couple feet with some dynamic. Omnidirectional will have the largest.

If you haven’t spent days getting your speakers perfectly positioned then your probably not getting remotely what they are capable of. Start with equilateral triangles… I would search on speaker positioning. Toe-in is critical. Your speakers are capable of amazing sound… imaging.. soundstaging. Lots of work required to get the most out of them.

More power will solidify the bass make the sound more effortless. In general tubes can be more musical, but implementation is everything. Your speakers will probably sound better with more power. On the Other hand my

In general, you want your meters to stay on the left three quarters of the scale.

Most systems have a point where they “sound best”. I think my observation is that the better the system is, the wider the range of sounds good is. My system now sounds good at almost any volume, I have the best system that I have ever owned. Actually my dealer says it is the best system he has ever heard, and he has been in the business for over twenty years (photos under my user ID).