2. amps-preamps
  3. 1242240110

What should I upgrade first?

Hi Folks,

This is my first post so I’ll try to be brief but also provide enough information for your consideration as well. Any suggestions and guidance you can provide will be appreciated.

My question is what is the weakest link in my system and what should be upgraded first to improve the sound quality? My budget for the upgrade is about $1K.

My passion is two channel as I listen mostly to classical and jazz. My set up consists of a NAD C521BEE CD player, a NAD C162 pre-amp paired with a NAD C272 (150 wpc), Aerial Acoustics Model 7, and Cobalt Cable interconnects and speaker cables. Also, a good portion of my listening takes place at night at low levels and is sourced by my CD collection. I do have a tuner (Denon T-550 I think) but don’t do any serious listening using the tuner. I suppose I should also mention that I have a DirecTV HD receiver that will occasionally be used to play the music channels. This set up is placed in my family room so I understand I’m making acoustic compromises out of practical necessity. The Aerials are spaced about five feet apart and only about a foot away from the wall.

I have a 5.1 set up downstairs which is used mostly for movies…NAD front end (T751 and 550) with 3 M&K S-100Bs, S-85s for the rear and a single M&K KX-12SF sub. My receiver is only 60wpc which is becoming an issue in driving the S-100Bs when I do want to listen to music.

Back to my question, my initial thought was to upgrade my amp for the 2-channel system and move my C272 down stairs to drive the left and right fronts thus getting two upgrades for the price of one. I’ve been thinking about a used Classe CA-101, CJ solid state (Sonographe or MF 2xxx series), Bryston 3B-ST or Vincent SP-331. Then I started thinking that my CD player was perhaps the weakest link and I should replace/upgrade it. The options I’ve been considering for the CD upgrade were the Music Hall CD25.2 or a Jolida JD-100a. The third option which I know very little about is using a DAC. I’m holding out for the Oppo Blu-Ray so I’ve thought about perhaps incorporating a DAC with the Oppo.

Thanks for your time and I look forward to reading your comments.
pgawan2b

Showing 2 responses by pgawan2b

pgawan2b OP
122 posts
 
Thanks to all for your helpful responses. Now, I'm thinking of possibly making two purchases, a DAC and a tube pre-amp.

I don't know much about tubes in general but especially not about pre-amps. I really liked the idea of the Monarchy M-24 especially when I read the reviews. However, a remote is going to be important (WAF), and from what I could tell, the Monarch didn't have a remote. On a different thread about tube pre-amps, a Sonic Frontiers was recommended. Is that a reasonable alternative?

With regards to a DAC, the two that come to mind are the Musical Fidelty V-DAC and the Music Hall dac25.2. Is there an additional DAC that should be on my list?

Thanks again for taking the time,
Mark
pgawan2b OP
122 posts
 
I thought I would follow up with regards to my purchases. I ended up purchasing the Oppo 980H and a stand alone DAC from Monarchy, an upgraded M-22. The Oppo improved the simplicity of my system by allowing one unit to play all forms of CDs/DVDs. The Monarchy DAC is an impressive piece of equipment; I'm equally impressed with it's performance. I'm very happy with my purchases and the sound quality the system generates.
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