Weakest Link in my system... Power Supply, DAC, or...


Hello fantastic Audiogon Community,

 

I am wondering what you all think is the next highest impact upgrade to my system. I have spent the past 8 months upgrading my entire main system to the following:

 

  • SPEAKERS: Pure Audio Project Duet 15 Horn (Mundorf Silver Gold Oil Cap upgrade and high pass filter, Duelund 16 internal wiring and speaker cables to amp)
  • AMP: PrimaLuna Dialogue Premium HP Integrated (Gold Lion KT77 power tubes, Briar and Mullard NOS gain tubes)
  • DAC: HoloAudio Spring 2 Level 3 Kitsune edition
  • PHONO: Music Hall MMF-9 and McIntosh MP 100 Preamp (but I’m focusing on the digital for this thread)
  • INTERCONNECTS: Duelund 16 (Perfection interconnect)
  • STREAMER: Nagra Streamer (Nordost Blue Haven Coax)

 

I listen to Roon / Qubuz when streaming.

 

I was wondering what you all think would be my next upgrade with the biggest impact. Some thoughts:

  1. DAC: The Holo Audio is from 2019. I enjoy the sound, but haven’t compared with any other modern DAC’s in my system. I imagine DAC progress has been significant since the 2019 release of this DAC?
  2. POWER SUPPLY: I hear over and over that the power supply for the amp, DAC, and Streamer may matter quite a bit. I am curious about this…. Would this be the biggest gain of performance for my system? All power is stock presently.
  3. PRIMA LUNA UPGRADES: I hear a lot about capacitor and resistor upgrades to my amp.... 
  4. ROOM TREATMENT: Since my main system is in my living room, I am a little constrained on room treatment. It is about 12’ x 16’ with an 8’ ceiling, hardwood floors and rugs and sofas about. I could build book shelves for the corners of the room where speakers reside, but that is about the only thing I could add to this particular room at this time. (Bass traps are likely out of the question due to aesthetics)

 

Looking forward to your advice on my last big moves before I surrender my wallet to the joy of music.

 

Till next,

r.

whyrichard

Showing 1 response by sns

Obviously the room, although it needs slightly unique solutions for open baffle speakers. I ran various models of open baffle Alon's for years, and I previously owned PL I can't recall if it was you or someone else, in any case there is recent thread on mods for your PL. Open baffles like to be well away from room boundaries, but then you may lose bass moving them out further into room. You could also try EL34 tubes with PL, I always preferred EL34 to KT family in push pulls, EL34 has magic mids the others can't match.

 

So, room becomes somewhat moot if audio specific treatments not allowed, just get the speakers well away from room boundaries. Clean power is where I'd go next with your system, don't cheap out here, dedicated lines and good grounds go a long way, assuming you can modify your electrical service. Power conditioner would also be at top of list for improvement, you'll get endless advice as to which one. Beyond that your dac is next weakest link, and r2r dac's not necessarily rolled on top, I have r2r and Sabre chip dac, implementation of any protocol or chip is key. Your system very nice foundation for excellent sound quality, don't need wholesale changes.