Over the years, I progressively upgraded my modest components, one by one, whenever I got the opportunity to do so.
It all started when my father bought a Harmann-Kardon system in the late-80's: I inherited the crappy Realistic system he bought at Radio Shack in the 70's. Perfect though for a teenager with that marvelous collection of 12 vinyl records I was listening to over and over gain, to my brother's greatest annoyance.
But the system had no CD player. When I moved to college, my first upgrade was a Teac 3100 (if I remember correctly). A quantum leap from the other components. This particular unit had a built-in headphone socket, and I quickly realized headphones sounded MUCH better than if I plugged them into the Realistic receiver's socket.
Hence came my first major upgrade: after visiting just about every audio retailers in Quebec City, I decided to go for an Arcam Alpha-3 and bi-wired Linn Index II. Talk of a quantum leap! There was, of course, no comparison. In hindsight, I am quite glad I did not go with popular mass-market brands, which were still very tempting for a budget-minded student. My friends thought I were crazy: "for the same price, you could have got a complete system with dual tape deck, tuner and equalizer (argh!)".
It was then just a matter of time before the upgrade bug hit. Ad it hit hard. I found a used California Audio Labs Icon Mark I. I replaced my Monster interconnects with Audioquest and wow! what an improvement again. Then I needed i fine system rack. I bought a Sony tuner, which I replaced with the Yamaha less than a year after. I still own this one and it sounds quite good with Audioquest Topaz. When my venerable C.A.L. player suddenly died of its old illnesses, and the company now gone the way of the dodo bird, I went for a Rotel RDC-975. My latest upgrade was the Arcam DiVA A85, which replaced my faithful but ageing alpha-3 last month (it was literally falling apart).
This is a huge improvement over my previous amp, especially after being hooked with BPT's excellent L-12 power cord, which made even more dramatic improvements, especially in the details, presence and realism.
I am now agonizing over my speakers. They're still quite good, but i feel there's room for improvement. Among the options I am considering are ProAC Studio 125 or 130, and the B&W 704. Does anyone have experience with these speakers, and how well they would partner with my existing gear?
Splendid French designed integrated amplifier based on EL34 lamps. Extraodinarily musical.
Axiom Audio M-80ti
With new custom-finish, these are the best
Rotel RCD-975
A stream-lined unit, got a discount because it was end of line. Shown here with magnificient Timbernation tiger-maple isolation platform.
Vintage Revox B-160
Found on eBay. Paid 500$ Best hi-fi purchase thus far. Exceptionnal performance, dynamics & soundstage. Easily the best tuner I have ever tried.
Benchmark Media Systems DAC1
Superb DAC designed for professional use, but extremely competent in a home system. Hooked to my ageing Rotel RCD-975, it really propelled my system into a new realm. The difference in musicality, acoustics, definition, warmth, accuracy is just staggering. It also has 2 built-in headphone jacks, and a bright blue LED reminescent of a Krell!
Magnum Dynalab ST-2
Added the St-2 Antenna. My tuner having 2 FM inputs, I was able to perform A/B comparisons between the new antenna and cable broadcast. The ST-2 is clearly better, and bring about more stations, more precisely, with a larger soundstage, better bandwith, and more details. The difference is quite staggering. Considering the low price of this unit, this is probably the most cost-effective upgrade I have ever made! Beautiful!
ZU Cable Wax bi-wire
Finally ordered thoses from an eBay auction. Solid, hefty cables, with beautifully made locking banana terminations. Cold from the box, they were a clear improvement over the old Prisma-IV affairs. Much more dynamic, faster, clearer, a truly great product.
Actinote CS-150
Most excellent Franch-made power cable, brings out subtle details on the DAC that no other cable in this price range could. A definite best-buy from my point of view.
Ridge Street Audio Designs Silver Soloist
1m meters interconnects, bought directly from the manufacturer (http://www.ridgestreetaudiodesigns.com). Used between the CD and amp. They need a good 75-100 hours of burn-in before they really start to shine. A quantum leap in quality. They bring a new dimension to my listening, vastly improved dynamics over the Audioquests, very detailed upper-midrange and crystalline highs. Bass is tighter and has slighly less slam, but on the other hand is more detailed. The overall improvement is however such that I consider this a component-level upgrade. Completely changed my system. A small company that deserves to be discovered. Similar products used: - Radio-Shack audio interconnects (yuck!) - Monster Interlink CD - Monster Interlink 400 - Audioquest Topaz
Ridge Street Audio Designs MSE Gen II Digital
Splendid digital cable. Custom-terminated with a BNC plug for a nominal fee in order to accomodate my DAC1, it really added another dimension to my listening experience. Everything is more coherent, brings more presence, more detail. Analog cable upgrades brought dramatic changes in the chromatic spectrum and in the areas of dynamism, clarity, precision; this digital upgrade seems to improve on existing qualities, bringing more polish, more details, more coherence and musicality. A superb cable indeed.
FIM 880
A pair of high-end AC outlets. Surprizing improvement overall.
Furman PST-8
Power bar with surge protection and noise filtering.
System edited: Since I had to completely reseat my system (racks were to close to wall, and speakers were not ideally positioned), I took the opportunity to add 2 FIM 880 wall outlets and a Furman PST-8 power bar. One outlet receives the amp and DAC, the Furman is hooked to the other and receives the rest of the system. This may not be the ideal setup for some purists, but it is leaps and bonds superior to my previous setup, whence everything was hooked into a $2.99 powerbar from Wal-Mart, and cheapo outlets, which I discovered to be so corroded I could even unscrew the wires! It was all well worth the effort, and this is another highly cost-effective upgrade that brought clearly audible immprovements.
FM can be a high end source. Some of those jazz broadcasts on the public radio stations in the evening can rival the fidelity of even my digital source, which like you Benchmark DAC, is no slouch. Considering what the FM waves are poluted with one would not think it was possible. But the fidelity can exist, when the radio station cares. And I'm using a $7 ebay tuner. HD radio is not needed, IMO.
System edited: Just added the Magnum Dynalab ST-2 Antenna. The antenna comes with a 25 feet Koss cable. My tuner having 2 FM inputs, I was able to perform A/B comparisons between the new antenna and cable broadcast. The ST-2 is clearly better, and brings in more stations, more precisely, with a larger soundstage, better bandwith, and more details. The difference is quite staggering. I am now realizing that FM can be a REAL hi-fi source. Considering the low price of this unit, this is probably the most cost-effective upgrade I have ever made!
System edited: My first important upgrade in nearly a year. These cables are a major improvement in my system. Even before the 250-hour recommended break-in period, cold from the box, they still presented a clear improvement over my old Prisma-IV cables. Everything is more focused, clearer, it's as if I had removed a blancket in front of my speakers. Built quality is flawless. So far I am extremely pleased with my purchase! They probably extended the life of my old Linn speakers by a few years...
System edited: Added the Ridge Street Audio Midnight Silver Edition Gen II. A splendid digital cable. Custom-terminated with a BNC plug for a nominal fee in order to accomodate my DAC1, it really added another dimension to my listening experience. Everything is more coherent, has more presence, more detail. Analog cable upgrades brought dramatic changes in the chromatic spectrum and in the areas of dynamism, clarity, precision; this digital upgrade seems to improve on existing qualities, bringing more polish, more details, more coherence and musicality. A superb cable indeed and a strongly recommanded addition to any transport/DAC combination.
System edited: Just added the much talked-about Benchmark DAC1. Upon receiving the unit, I was somewhat dismayed by its small size, but built-quality is impressive and the unit is surprizingly heavy. The back side sports a comprehensive array of inputs (BNC-coax, XLR and Toslink) and outputs (RCA, XLR). A BNC-to-RCA adaptor is provided so one can use a standard RCA coax cable. After hooking it to my system, it was quickly obvious that this DAC is no mere hype. It performs just as advertized, that is: brilliantly. Even from stone-cold, I could immediately hear a substancial improvement over my old built-in Rotel bitstream DAC. Detail, precision, control, everything was clearly improved. After a few days of burn-in, it was just glorious. I could not resist the temptation of opening the unit to see what it looked like inside. There you will find a lovely, hockey puck-sized toroidal transformer, high quality caps and resistors. The board's layout is clean and logical, an audiophile's dream. This unit being intended for the professional market is highly configurablem, and many jumpers allows you to modify functions such as output gain to tailor-suit your equipment. The factory defaults suited me well, but it is good to know you can adjust just about every parameter. Overall, I think this is the greatest upgrade to my system so far!
I promise I will give the Revels a try as soon as I can get my hands on a pair. These not very common in Canada, and I'll have to do a bit of research. However, I am partial to the Linn's, and I will probably also consider their higher-range products too... Other brands I am considering are Epos and Monitor Audio.
System edited: I needed a reasonably good DVD player to complete my system. I am not much into home theater, being more of a traditional 2-channel audiophile, but nevertheless, there are times when you just want to watch a good movie. So I chose the Marantz DV4300 player partly because I had a good discount at my local dealer, because the reviews I read were reasonably good, and also because of the actractive slim-line styling that fits well into my existing system.
Wait 'til you get a pair of Revel M20s used, Europas new, or a dozen others new or used. You think you hear details now. Just wait. Enjoy your tunes until you, again, get the upgrade itch. THEN, PLEASE, consider your speakers.
System edited: I have just acquired Ridge Street Audio Silver Soloist interconnects. These are an excellent improvement to my system, although they had me worried a lot during the first few days. Individual instruments, jazz quartest sounded quite good, but orchestral masses and synth music were competely muffled and shut-in. However, after a good-100 hours of burn-in, they started to change radically, for the best. I didn't know my system was capable of such resolution. Everything sounds cleaner, more detailed, especially in the upper-mids and highs, which was the main weakness in my previous setup. Acoustic guitar and piano sound just glorious. Vocals are vaslty improved. And details! details!
Revel M20s. I used to own these. If you purchase them used, you can splurge on excellent stands: very important for monitors. Major extension of the speakers.
Well, I figured I could buy an ECD-1 for around 2000 USD. So I could possibly spend such a budget on new speakers. Let's keep in mind I also need to change my cables, which are 12 years old. I would also like to buy speakers that will last me at least as long as my still very good Indexes (12 yrs too), and be up to the challenge of future upgrades! The ability to bi-wire or bi-amp is also important to me. Next month I am planning to sell lots of Contax photographic equipment I no longer use, so I might be able to push this further up, or even buy the matched Arcam P85 for bi-amping. So what are your suggestions?
Thanks for your input. I have been agonizing over this for a while. I love those speakers because they're so sweet and detailed, yet have surprising punch in the bass. However, I'm afraid they've become a limiting factor to future upgrades. Let's say I use the budget I set aside to buy an Electrocompaniet ECD-1 for new speakers and stands instead, would you recommand floor-standing or monitor type? Any brands I should seriously listen to? I mostly like jazz, synth, classical, medieval, acoustic guitar, etc. My system's main flaw at this time is with large orchestrals, it clearly looses detail and focus. Haven't decided if it was a DAC, cable or speaker issue. Maybe a bit of each. Have a nice day.
I think moving up to the next level in monitor speakers would bring you the most significant tympanic joy. I do not know your budget, and that recommendation, therefore, may be out of the quesiton. If you're thinking Electrocompaniet, you're taking a major leap. Still, I'd start with a speaker upgrade and then, source. fwiw it's worth. peace, warren
