My speaker upgrade journey - and a few questions


So I have been running Linn Majik 140 speakers since 2015.  Started with a Rotel integrated, then Hegel 160 and currently the Hegel 390.  I like the Linn speakers as they have great presence and clarity, but (like most of us) wondered if I could find new speakers that provide a significant upgrade in sound.  Over the last three years I have listened to many, many speakers - Spendor, Vandersteen, Boenicke, Wilson, Sonus Faber, Focal, B&W, Borresen, Klipsch, Golden Ear, etc.  Just for fun I listened to some that are well over six figures.  Most were very good, but I just did not notice enough of an improvement over my current speakers.  I even found a dealer with my Linns on the floor, so I was able to do a direct A/B comparison.  Again, nothing justified an upgrade.  Last year I took a shot on some Tekton Double Impact speakers I had never heard as many on these forums love them.  I cancelled my order after about 2 months and no communication or speakers from Tekton. 

I figured I would never upgrade and perhaps my hearing is just not that good - why don't $100k Wilson speakers sound dramatically better than my $4k Linn speakers??

Until today.  I was sitting with John Rutan at Audio Connection listening to the Vandersteen Quatros and again had the same feeling - nice, but not worth it.  Then John sat me down in front of a pair of ATC SCM40A (the active version) and I was stunned.  These speakers are so much better in almost every way than everything I had heard before!  And since they don't need an external amp, the sale price of my Hegel 390 will just about cover the difference between the active and passive versions.  I hope they sound as good in my home as they do in the store.

Finally, here is my question.  To keep things as simple as possible, I would like to use my Yamaha RX-A6A (AVR) as the preamp for these speakers and connect the speakers via XLR cables to the pre-outs on the AVR.  Both the AVR and speakers have XLR terminals.  This means using the pre-amp section and DAC of the Yamaha.  The DAC in the Yamaha is the ESS SABRE ES9026PRO Ultra.  Would I be compromising these awesome speakers with the Yamaha electronics?  Thanks for your input. 

 

jcs01

@jcs01 

As long as you’re lugging amps around, bring the H390 next and hook it up to the ATC’s W/O the built in amps. You know it will easily power them and it has an okay DAC in it.  I have had a H390 for two years now and for the money, I am very happy with it. Later when you have had time with everything and you are used to the sound, then consider an external DAC.

All the best.

Have you listened to SALK speakers?  Heard than at RMAF in Denver and they sounded really good.

Sounds like my journey.  But I lugged most of my system including my Gryphon Diablo 300 amp to a different city, a ferry trip away, to listen to 7 different speakers worth $25-$40k USD, over a period of 3 years.  And like you, found none that impressed.  Until the very end when I tried a pair of speakers that were actually designed and voiced with Gryphon and potentially even my amp (Audiovector R6 Arrete’s).  All of a sudden everything clicked, and it was like I was listening not to a collection of components, but a system designed to make music.  Everything was more musically engaging and the bass really came alive vs all other options I tested.  And even terrible recordings sound great now.

Best of luck and my and my advise is do not compromise, or you will be searching again soon. I almost did with one particular pair of speakers and it would have been a big mistake!

 

 

jcs01:  Qobuz has, in the opinion of a great very many, better SQ than any iteration Tidal or Spotify.  I feel the same way in my admittedly MidFi setup.