After several years of tinkering with a midfi system consisting of entry level Ayre and Cary components with Joseph Audio Speakers, I decided on a whole scale change to the system. My listening room is small and the Josephs were way to big all along. Room treatments were in order as well. The Ayon was attractive because of its top of the line DAC with USB input. I haven't gone computer based yet but that will probably be a future source. The Gems are perfect for the room. They have suprising bass extension for small drivers. I may add subs at some point but I do not feel any pressure right now.
I finally feel that I have the basics of a really high quality system which matches the listening space. My upgrade path at this point will be:
1. Acoustic room treatments - bass is uneven in various positions in the room. Traps will help with this. There is some harsh upper treble which panel absorbers will hopefully fix.
2. Cables? My Audio Art cables perform well and can't be beat price wise, but I'm always wondering how much room for improvement there is. I am a firm believer that different cables deliver different sonic qualities but I also believe that there is no need to spend silly money to get the characteristics you desire.
3. A decent rack. Everything is on a beautiful Eames storage unit, but I think it might collapse under the weight of the Ayon and Levinson! While I'm at it, some vibration control as well.
For room treatment, I would start with Bass Traps in every corner you can, floor to ceiling. I found that this one thing (on just the wall behind the speakers and sub) made the biggest difference. The room echo disappeared! I bought, use, and recommend Gik Acoustics (no association). Their traps are inexpensive, do not need permanent mounting and are stackable. It took less than 30 minutes to set both up (4 traps, 2 per wall corner).
