Best set-up under $20K


Hello!

I´m starting to look for an upgrade.  What would you buy with a 20k budget?  (new or used)

My actual system is bw803d2 with hegel h360.
I started looking at bw802d3 with mcintosh ma8900 + streamer (?)

I mostly listen to digital (Tidal) through iphone/airplay.  

Will install it in a big room (about 6mts x 10mts); listenning & dinning room. 

Tks 

gfguimaraes

Aesthetix Calypso Sig, Ayre VX-5 Twenty, Lumin U1 Mini, Line Magnetic LM 502ca & Graham LS5/9. All connected with several sets of Audience AU24 XLR, speaker lines & digital cables w/Transparent PCs. All purchased pre-owned & all in excellent condition - perfect in my med size room. All tubes NOS Amperex, Telefunken & RCA. Just over the $20K mark total investment.

I agree with others: add a dedicated streamer and a high quality external DAC .  Breath new life yes it will. 

Keep the Hegel and get a pair Harbeth SHL5 XD, or 40.2’s, or 40.3 XD at a discount.  Get a good player - such as the Bryston BDP-3 and with a Schitt Yggdrasil DAC or any number of others that will cost more). 

Or… keep the Hegel and get the Legacy Audio Signature XD, or Focus XD with a good player and DAC (suggested above).

Or… keep the Hegel and get the Klipsch Cornwall IV, or Forte IV speakers with a good player and DAC (suggested above).

Any of these will sound superb.  The Harbeths will have a warm rich sound a lot like the Quad ESL 57’s (about the best there is with proper set up and room), which is why I suggest them.

The Legacy’s a bit more neutral sound, with superb soundstage and bass as well as mids and highs.  Very dynamic with great detail resolution, which is natural (not hyped like the B&W’s).

The Klipsch also has great soundstage, mids, bass and highs with a live sound that will fill the room.  But, are pretty sensitive to placement.  They are very efficient, and can be driven with tube amps, if you want to consider some of those - probably best with tube amps.

Those would prolly be my top 3 in that budget range - some quite a bit less. 

 

 

I have a  hegel H360, very nice but I wanted to upgrade the dac after the h30 came out with full MQA decoding so bought a project pre box s2 digital. I have no doubt there's better, but it's cheap and has a low power version of the latest sabre chipset. Speakers are personal. Consider listening to a pair of Dali Epicon 8, the design is getting long in the tooth, it boogies with the hegel and dealers should deal.

I also vote for the JBL 4367s, they are an all-around amazing speaker.  I had cornwalls before these and the JBLs are better and more refined in every aspect, in my opinion.  I have an Ayon Triton Tube amp I'm using with them and it is a match in heaven.  My experiences with Class D amps was it sounded too flat & harsh if you pushed them very loud.  A typical class AB amp sounded good but these JBLs are very neutral and detailed and I felt they were too "thin" sounding for my liking until I got the Class A 125W/ch tube amp. I am mostly a rocker; classic rock, hard rock and heavy metal and I'm yet to find a speaker that plays Metallica like it's meant to be played until picking up the 4367s.  Good luck!