Suggestions on minor upgrades to purchase


Hello everyone, I’ve recently sold most of my old system due to wanting to try some different components out. Recently I purchased a rel 212se to pair with my Martin logan esl impression 11a’s and I am curious as to what else minor upgrade wise I could purchase. Im 85/15 movies/music and as for electronics I am utilizing a pair of ps audio m700 monoblocks with a Marantz av7704 processor and as for conditioners I have a furman elite 20 pfi and a furman elite 15 pfi. I had recently looked into possibly purchasing some cheap power cables to replace stock(I don’t believe in the sparkly effects expensive power cables bring as im not a music buff) and idk which brands to look at. As for streamers I barely utilize my Lumin u1 mini and thinking of possibly downgrading to the new node since Apple Music is all I listen to(would this heavily degrade the quality?). Any suggestions would be fantastic, just looking for a few minor upgrades possibly to get my esl 11s a bit more transparency and detail.

tbwebd1435

Well, not a small tweak but your Marantz is the weak link. A really good tube preamp would perk that system up to the next level. 

I'd recommend starting with W Audio power cables that you can get for about $50 on Amazon.  I have three in my system and the one on my integrated amplifier resulted in a significant improvement.  Any improvement from the ones only DAC and power conditioner were not obvious to me.  It's a relatively affordable and easy place to dabble and form an initial opinion.  I'm now at the point of deciding if I want to try something else and if so, how would I evaluate the potential of it being better or a better value.  I felt like the power cable on my Pathos Classic One resulted in the sound being a lot more "natural" sounding and less like a recording.  In my mind the theory is that anything that improves the signal results in more transparency and detail because distortions of the signal are reduced.  Ideally, you'd hear nothing but the original signal.

Well, not a small tweak but your Marantz is the weak link. A really good tube preamp would perk that system up to the next level. 

That's true, but he probably needs the AVR for his HT.

@tbwebd1435 , how many channels are you running through the Marantz for movies?