the greater the investment the better it sounds (assuming you do your research)
absolutely, more $ only yields improvement when all the rules - synergy, weakest link, room, etc. are considered wisely
I am looking to upgrade - looking for advice
So I am the guy who recently asked if a Rotel 1572 preamp would work with a Parasound A21+ amp. So I was asking because I was thinking of upgrading my current amp which is a Rotel 1552. The rest of my system is Yamaha CD player and project turntable (both approx $400 each), Bluesound Node, and B&W 705 S2 speakers. Right now I primarily stream my music through the node. So I was interested in the next step to improvement and I thought it would be what the amplifier. After reading some of the posts on my original question (would the A21 work well with my Rotel preamp I am now thinking that I need to look at both the preamp and amp. Of course that is you agree with my assessment. Here are a few of the amps I was looking at: A21, Vincent SP-332, and Bryson 3b3. The preamps that were suggested all look outstanding: Benchmark LA4, Backert Labs Rhumba 1.3 and the Audionet Pre 1 G3. It looks like with these I would need to also get a DAC, not sure about the phono stage. Any advice is appreciated. I am knee to this.
- ...
- 52 posts total
@ghdprentice @grislybutter are spot on. It’s a chain that works together, and the weakest link is what you’ll hear once once the clarity reaches a high level. Patience, synergy, research, and lots of listening when you make changes is your best bet IMO. It’s also good to optimize what you have by isolation and preventing vibration and resonances as much as is feasible, suitable cables and wires, etc. I don’t buy enough expensive equipment to make any specific recommendations, but I trust the advice above. It’s always subjective and personal, but IMO this is a good time to at least consider taking a step towards tubes to get a taste, and set yourself up for possible future upgrades in that direction if you happen to become enamored like many do. |
I like Bryston - currently for bass in my listening room (4BSST) and 5-channel for HT (9BSST). Bulletproof with service and warrantee to match, smooth elegant sound, not the last word in clarity, but then, not the last word in price either. Owned B off and on since 2004. Works well with bass, Magnepan, and even ESL. |
If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there…. As @soix so often asks what sonically are you looking to improve ?….. IF it plays loud enough and can handle the speaker load , amp is the LAST thing i recommend….. i know… big…beefy… heavy… easy sell … IF you don’t plan on playing records beyond the currently hip fad, as @ghdprentice points out, don’t invest further. IF you do, then you need to focus on transducers - cartridges …. your table will support and reward possibly up to an Ortofon Bronze ( just an example )…. after that work on the other transducers ; speakers…. |
- 52 posts total