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What should my next upgrade be? Your best experience

I have the itch to upgrade my system now that I've been in it for a moment. I mostly stream (Deezer) or listen to CD/SACD content. I occasionally play vinyl but rarely, I'm sure I will continue to grow into it but am not looking to improve the TT now. I listen to mostly Classic Rock, Jazz, Blues, and Indie music. I'm listening to Talking Heads (live acoustic) as I write this. The Marantz PM-11s3 has zero issues pushing the Monitor Audio Silver 8s, it actually is a little over kill for them I think, as it has complete control of them, never losing its composure.  So there is zero chance the PM-11s3 is up for replacement at this point.
The room is 14'x40' with 12' ceilings. The system has no issue filling every inch and at high volumes so no issue there.

Current system is -

Marantz PM-11s3
Marantz UD7007
Marantz TT-42 
Sonos Connect
Monitor Audio Silver 8's
Analysis Plus Purple Oval 12 bi-wire
Tributaries 8AB XLR (UD7007 to PM-11s3)
Tributaries 2A RCA (Sonos to PM-11s3)
CyberPower Conditioner

The obvious direction, it seems to me, is speakers? But am I missing something? Would upgrading to a real audio quality conditioner with an upgraded power cable give me something more and set me in the right direction for future upgrades? 
Or am I not where I need to be with cables? Can I make a sonic improvement by upgrading speaker cables and/or interconnects while again getting myself in a good position for future upgrades?
I have to admit that this is the best system I've had and I do love every minute of listening to it.... Its fast, accurate, and punchy yet it has great sound stage and its not clinical. It has that Marantz sound/charm (warm but not clouded).
I know posts like this are common and beaten to death but my system is unique as it is mine and probably not exactly like anybody else's...
Never-the-less, I know I'm nowhere near where most of you are! And I know for a fact I have much less knowledge than most of you. I'd like to keep bettering my system, moving towards the personal listening nirvana if you will. So what direction would you head in if you were in my shoes?
264win

Showing 6 responses by 264win

264win OP
51 posts
 
Thank you Alan and Inna.... I thought as much and will be looking at speakers first I guess?
Budget.... Hmmm, well I guess I could get something out of the Monitor Silver 8s? Though I doubt much. The Silver 8s were 2K and well reviewed. I would want to move into the range of the cost of the PM-11s3 which was 5K...
264win OP
51 posts
 
@roberjerman     Those Vandersteen's do look delicious! I just now read a bunch of reviews and they are some serious high-end players! 
264win OP
51 posts
 
Great input guys! I should have thought about the Sonos myself but that’s why I have you all lol
I’m not at home, so a quick question for the Sonos owners here. Can I bypass the Sonos DAC and use the UD7007s?
264win OP
51 posts
 
OK, so I finally got home and have answered some questions myself with the Sonos 
I'm not sure why I didn't identify it as the weak link much earlier? Maybe because it is so easy? Maybe because Deezer streams at much better quality than most other content sites and really does sound pretty good?
Here is some of Deezer's propaganda
 
"Deezer Elite lets you stream music at CD-quality 1411 kbps in your home (compared to the standard 320kbps), but only on a Sonos system"

So, being true to this thread, I came home and put on some good old Red Book CD through the Marantz UD7007....
Talking Heads - OPUS Collection, 2009 Rhino Recordings (for Starbucks) I think their best non-live disc
I played the OPUS CD through the Marantz song by song against the Sonos streaming Deezer's Talking Heads content.
Again I'm still surprised that the Sonos with Deezer even showed up against the Red Book CD and the Marantz, which it kind of did on some remastered recordings, to a certain extent.
But even the best of the Deezer streaming was no match for the Marantz! It was enjoyable but it lacked in every way!
So now, because of the fact that I do stream a lot of Deezer through the Sonos, I looked to see if I could connect better to my system. Sadly the Marantz just has a Ethernet in? Where the Sonos has RCA or a SPDIF dig out. So I'm kind of stuck here!
I guess I need to figure out how to upgrade my Sonos connection, maybe bypass the Sonos DAC in the process so I can use the UD7007's DAC, or find another streaming system to use with Deezer?
One last question, a hail mary really lol Do you think upgrading the RCA interconnects between the Sonos and the PM-11s3 will help? 

264win OP
51 posts
 
Hello and thank you everybody! I have learned a lot from all of your posts and I have taken the time to reflect in what everyone has said, as I take all of your replies seriously. I also know they come with not only the passion we all have for Audio but the experience this passion comes with!
It seems to me a general consensus that I need to upgrade the streaming I have. It looks like I unfortunately cannot use the DAC in the UD7007 (which I’d love to do) because it does not have the correct inputs sadly.....
But you know what does?!?! A Marantz NA-11s1!!! lol I guess I’ll just dive in!
Here is the review for it and it does have both a Digital and Optical input but also a network that will rout the Sonos stream direct to its DAC, which by all means seems to be a pretty good unit?

https://www.stereophile.com/content/marantz-reference-na-11s1-network-audio-playerdac

Now, I’ve also heard the thoughts that I should look at the listening room. And I should and will! It is a A/V or should I say TV Room lol But I can see multiple areas that I can improve on, even if they are just small improvements they will improve the room never the less.

Now to the Sub suggestions.... I think I’ll wait on adding any subs to the system. I can honestly not say if and how much of an improvement adding Sub Woofers to the system will add? What I will say is that the PM-11s3 is VERY underrated at 100wpc into 8ohms and that it will double down. The Silver 8s are a 4ohm speaker that are getting just bullied by it and they play both loud and low. I’d describe them as a bottom up speaker. With the Silver 8s placed 20" or so off the back wall they provide very good bass. And very good bass at low volumes. This bass is fast, tight, and deep. I’m throughly happy with it! It shakes the floors 30’ away lol

Anyway, please let me know if you think looking to add a NA-11s1 is the right or wrong move as I appreciate your thoughts!

Thanks again, Charles
264win OP
51 posts
 
All things to think about.... I do really like the Marantz Reference sound and do believe in product synergy. I would have to believe that a NA-11s1 paired with a PM-11s3 would be very musical?
And as it is a few years old now I'm sure the NA-11s1 does not have the same top end specs as some of the new units but it's still very close and maybe better in the range I listen to which as I said before is SACD and streaming service in that area. Having said that I'm not that incredibly rigid I won't go take a listen and demo before making a decision. PS Audio is here in Colorado so I can start there and see where the search takes me.
I will say one last thing though that I like about the Marantz but I'm not sure that it matters in a DAC or not? But it's the build quality! Looking at its build, it looks to be in a much better class than the others in the same price point? There is something to be said for that and that does transfer into superior sound quality am I correct?   
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