Does an upgrade make sense?


I may be coming down with the upgrade bug, and I’m open to suggestions. I’m quite happy with what I have—excellent imaging, musicality, dynamics. Maybe I could use a little more depth (left right is fine and speakers truly disappear), and maybe a touch more dynamics.

Almost everything I listen to is Qobuz streaming or hi res and flac files from a NAS (hard drive). My system:

Cambridge 851 Streamer/DAC

Bel Canto Pre5

Bel Canto Ref 500 monoblocks

Dali Mentor 6 floorstanders

Everything sits on maple plinths, Gaia iiis, or pucks.

Cabling is mid range Morrows. I previously had Kimber KS1116s but sold them as the Morrows sounded just as good, on the current set up.

What do I need to get more of everything? Speakers? DAC, Streamer? Amp?

tomaswv

Here is a path that will tie you up for a bit. The New Cambridge Audio CXN V2 is Roon Ready.  explore upgrading to that and firing up a Roon trial and running the core on a PC or desktop you might have on the network.  At this point you are not testing SQ but all the other features ROON environment provides, like blending your Local files with Qobuz offerings and all the other meta data features.    Then if that is all good then get a real audio quality host of the Roon core like a SGC ST i5.  Then you can compare the SQ of Roon to what the CXN V2 can do with Roon out of the loop. 

All the above 😉, add getting ears cleaned!  Listening late at night in dark environment, clearing the mind of distractions/thoughts.  Listening as a skill vs. a passive activity.  Trying a new artist or genre of music.  All good things to try.

Hey, I love the idea of two subs. Sealed box only. I’m not really worried about how low they go but more on where they will be in the room. I’m thinking 2 REL T9i because they are small but use the Speakon connections ( wired into your amps dmspeaker output. If your amps a class D do not connect the black wire to the speaker terminal. Attach it to a screw on the chassis instead. I see you have a 65” piece of glass in the middle. Just so you know the REL subs have a LFE input for home theater too. Dali speakers are usually not that heavy. So on the days you really want to enjoy the musi pull your speakers out into the room. You will be amazed at the sound. Last but definitely not least you need to treat the room. It will probably be the biggest sound impact for your money. Even free standing absorbers or diffusers at the first reflection points will really deepen the sound stage. I hope this helps. 

Another vote for looking at getting a better DAC and then maybe a Subwoofer or two. I have one SVS SB 2000Pro one the wall behind my listening position. My speakers are 8’ in front of me and the subwoofer is about 7’ behind and it blends in so well that I will not be adding a second to the system.  I got lucky, because most rooms need at least a pair to get smooth even bass.

All the best.