2. misc-audio
  3. 187341-118236

Help me spend $100,000 on a new system

I’ve recently been considering moving and downsizing my home. While exploring how much I might sell my house and land for, I was shocked that I might have an excess of $100,000 after selling and buying a smaller new home with less acreage. I’m 71 years old and can’t take it with me, so I’m trying to figure out how to spend that potential resource.

One possibility would be to purchase a new stereo system with all that cash. I would like to demo a system costing that much to see what sound quality you could get for a stupendous amount like that. But I don’t have any idea what brand/model components to look at. Perhaps you could suggest components you might consider if you were setting up a system at that price point. Also how would you budget the total amount per component including wiring.

I am not interested in adding streaming or anything else I might not already have to the system. I would be open to buying separates to replace any single component such as the integrated amplifier. Maybe a separate DAC, phono stage, preamp etc. Please tell me what you would do.

Following are the components I already have to upgrade. My system consists of Magico A3 speakers, a Luxman 507uX MK2 integrated amp, a Marantz Ruby KI CD/SACD player, A VPI Classic 2 turntable with a Fatboy tonearm and a Lyra Kleos cartridge. Wiring consists of Audioquest Rocket 88 speaker cables, and VPI house brand wires that connect to the tonearm. I forget the brands of the other wires and cables, but they are of similar quality to the above.

I also have a Shunyata Hydra Denali 4000 power conditioner with a Venom power cord (I think) that I will continue to use without upgrading.

I would welcome any of your suggestions and utilize them next time I go up to Washington DC to visit dealer showrooms for demos. Thank you much.

It does sound weird to consider spending that much on a system costing over three times what I paid for my first home, so I hope I’m not sounding uppity here.

Mike

 

 

skyscraper
niodari's avatar
niodari
297 posts
 

I also agree with many others that arranging a room with good acoustics and pleasant environment could give you more satisfaction than changing your audio system and setting it up in a room with an average acoustics. 

mdalton's avatar
mdalton
273 posts
 

Mike - one other thought.  A good friend of mine has been working with a very nice shop in Winston-Salem, Ember Audio + Design.  They carry some great lines, and might be much closer to you.

niodari's avatar
niodari
297 posts
 

You should not necessarily use special absorbing material that may look ugly. You can rather use carpets, paintings, lamps, nice wooden things and furniture to make your listening room enjoyable.

scottwheel
184 posts
 

One has to be careful with absorption. If used it needs to be broad band otherwise it can become a passive equalizer with dull high frequencies 

hsounds
133 posts
 

Hey, I get you do not want your space looking like a Studio. If that’s the case use the very cheapest cables and some egg cartons. All joking aside, there are some really great innovations in the acoustic room treatments world. Like acoustic absorbers with nice pictures either yours or pre done. Diffusers that look like art sculptures with waves and colors, and finally treating your front wall with a beautiful paintable difusion arrangements that look amazing. Look at Jays Iyage. Not cheep, but sounds amazing! Your guests would be none the wiser. this is my first recommendation. 
second recommendation would be upgrading to the Magico S3. I believe it has the same midrange and tweeters as the M9’s. Plus the come in beautiful colors. One thing I’m not sure about your speakers is do you have the Series 1 tweeter or the Series 2 tweeters. This makes a huge difference. If you want a nice bookshelf for $4400 I would recommend the Revel M126 in gloss walnut. I demoed these in my house. They are amazing for the money. Plus with the Revel 5th gen tweeter they are room friendly. Plus, no subs needed to get good bass. I would recommend subs just to create bloom and enjoy your system at really low volumes. I hope this helps. 
 

More to discover