2. misc-audio
  3. 192889-199203

Where do I go from here?

I'm 58 and just recently decided that a nice, dedicated two-channel listening room will be my thing - I don't golf, or ski, or spend crazy money on a sports car, so I think my wife is good with this!

My room is less than ideal - 3/4 below grade room, 17'x24' with a 6'10" ceiling height, and a few weird corners, poles, and beams to deal with.  I have a nice, new love seat, tables, and lamps, with a couple of 8x10 rugs - its pretty cozy and comfortable, but the walls need something (discussed below).

My equipment today - Vintage 1980 Klipsch Heresys, with a pair of REL T/7x subs, McIntosh MC312 amp, McIntosh C47 pre, and an Eversolo A6 (with a 4TB SSD).  I have decent cabling and go balanced from the A6 to the C47, using the A6 DAC.  My rack is VTI BL404 from stands and mounts.com. 15A wall power into a Panamax M4315-PRO for all components including subs.

The audio quality I have right now is the best I have ever had in my life, and I am loving it!  But I know I can improve it over time in ways that will be quite noticeable and appreciated.  So, I welcome advice on where to go from here and what to do first...

The room: I have not used room correction software yet.  I am liking the idea of vertical slat acoustic paneling on one, two, or all four walls.  It looks really nice and seems a versatile first layer on the walls before getting serious about bass traps and other such things.

Speakers: I've had 600 series B&Ws in the past and my ears love their sound signature.  I really have my eye on the 702 S3s that are out there.  I wonder if I need the subs with those, or maybe the 703s with the subs?  Any issues with my Mac equipment?

Streamer/DAC: I'm thinking the upgrade path here is in the $3-5K range?  Or, if I do end up with the 702s am I shooting too low?

Turntable: I know there is blue sky on expenditure here, but I really want an automatic turntable, and the Dual CS 529 looks pretty good to me.  Comes with the Ortofon 2M red cartridge.  Is that good enough for now?

Like I said, I welcome advice on priorities, and if you think I'm missing something let me know.  Thanks all!

mattsca

Showing 2 responses by hilde45

hilde45's avatar
hilde45
5,219 posts
 

The audio quality I have right now is the best I have ever had in my life, and I am loving it!  Full stop.  Work on the room. Don’t change the system. 

This is absolutely right. Even if you do decide to upgrade equipment, the room is 50% of the sound. Get that right, first, and then do the other upgrades. 

Just for starters: you, like me, have very low ceilings. That has to be addressed. 

Imagine you're eating a meal and there's ketchup all over some of it. Someone says, "You should try a better cut of steak." You would normally reply, "Ok, but will that have ketchup all over it, too? Because I'm not buying more expensive steak unless I know I can taste and appreciate it." It's the same thing, possibly, with your current room. Learn how to analyze it and be willing to experiment until it sounds good. Then go spend on gear.

hilde45's avatar
hilde45
5,219 posts
 

Just want to second @knotscott's advice about used equipment. I like both Audiogon and US Audio Mart (USAM). I like to set up a bookmark with my zip code and 100 miles as a distance as filters for searching, along with the piece of gear I'm interested in. Then, I click that bookmark perhaps daily to see what is available, used, in easy driving distance. Getting a good used piece of gear, especially speakers, with a local pickup is so much easier than anything else. I bought an Atoll integrated that way for $1100 in cash from a really nice guy, then sold it about a year later for $1300. Easy.

I go into detail about this because it is likely that you will be iterating between learning your room and trying speakers, and this is the easiest way to keep that learning curve going without maximal loss of time or money.

More to discover