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Want to enhance my Audio system, need suggestions

I am a budget audio guy and currently have following two systems. My room size is 17ft x 14 ft x 8ft and I sit roughly ten feet from speakers.

System1: Harbeth P3ESR + Exposure 2010S2 + Oppo dvd player (this system is used for good quality recorded material)

System2: Tekton 4.5single driver monitors + Dayens Ampino/Miniwatt N3 + DacMagic + Oppo dvd player (mostly used for poorly recorded material and movies)

And I am planning to change the above to either of the following combinations.

Combination1:
System1: Harbeth P3ESR/Usher Be-718 monitors + Exposure 2010S2 + Oppo dvd player (placing the speakers on TV table, roughly 4 ft apart. If this sounds too bad then I don’t mind leaving them on stands)
System2: Omega Super6 XRS/Hoyt-Bedford Type2 floor standers + Dayens Ampino/Miniwatt N3 + DacMagic + Oppo dvd player

Combination2:
System1: Omega Super6/Hoyt-Bedford Type1 monitors + Dayens Ampino/Miniwatt N3 + DacMagic + Oppo (placing the speakers on to TV table, roughly 4 ft apart)
System2: Usher Dancer Mini 1/V 602/ProAc D-18 floor standers + Exposure 2010S2 + Oppo player

Which of the above combinations you guys would recommend. Ideally I want to have one of my systems with good midrange and other system with big and punchy sound.

I mostly listen to Rock, blues, East Asian (Indian) instrumental and East Asian (Indian) songs from 50s, 60s and 70s. All the East Asian material is very poorly recorded and I can’t change that fact nor I can change my music tastes just because of the recording quality!

I know that I should audition myself to see which one suits my requirements. But for above combinations, there is little scope for auditioning where I live.
Any suggestions and comments are highly welcome!
rktxyz

Showing 6 responses by inna

inna
7,913 posts
 
I cannot advise but one thought did come to mind. You might want to upgrade your cd player for the best system. Even poorly recorded music will sound better though you will hear more garbadge in the recordings too. I would play with cables as well.
I bet older East Indian material would sound much better on vinyl, but this is off the topic.
inna
7,913 posts
 
Also, speaker stands and cones or whatever between speakers ans stands can make quite a difference. What do you use now?
I personally treat all my cds with Optrix though it left some harmless residue on a few of them. Some people treat discs with Walker. It is much more expensive but may be worth it; I never tried it.
Personaly, I like the sound of CEC belt drive players and transports. Some Naims are very good too. Ayre as well.
inna
7,913 posts
 
REL or JL sub in apartment? He'll get evicted and fined in no time.
I would bother to get good stands with spikes or something else perhaps depending on whether you have carpeted or wooden floor and good cones between speakers and stands.
Not all wooden stands created equal you know, just like everything else.
inna
7,913 posts
 
I said what I did about sub because I know that there would be a tendency to listen at higher volume. I was not talking about integrating sub and speakers.
inna
7,913 posts
 
Rktxyz, as important as DAC is, transport is no less important, at least. I don't follow digital devices closely and their current prices and don't really know what $500 buy these days. But, I think, you should be able to get something pretty good that retailed for, say, $1200 or so.
inna
7,913 posts
 
Out of curiosity I took a look at what is available here.
A few players caught my attention: Audio Analogue, Cary, Otari, Revox and Naim with asking prices from $500 to $800. I am sure they all sound different, I am not familiar with any of them. Check them out.
I don't like Rega, consider it mid-fi budget company and just not interested in anything they make, be it analog or digital.
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