Okay, that's it -- I'm done (unless I win the lottery)


I just took delivery of an Eversolo DMP-A10 (replacing my DMP-A8). I didn’t need to upgrade, but the dealer that sold me my JC5 also sells Eversolo, and they take trade ins, and they made me a good deal, so . . .

It’s been an interesting journey over the past 18 months or so. It started when my old HT pre-amp started acting up, and I replaced it with a Marantz AV7706. While my goal was just to get a solid HT pre-amp, I also bought a second Parasound A51, thinking I’d go the Atmos route.

Then I decided I didn’t want to deal with the additional cabling for the extra speakers, and my four Bose 901s do a pretty good job for surround sound, so I dropped that plan. But having retired a few years ago, I decided I wanted to spend more time listening to music, and started streaming via HEOS and the Marantz.

But while fine for the HT, I figured I could do better than the Bose for stereo music. That lead me to purchase (on the recommendation of a forum member) a pair of Usher Mini-2 Diamond speakers. Wow, what an improvement. That led me down the path of a dedicated streamer (the A8) and better power cords and cables, and things got even better sounding. Finally, I traded one of the A51s in for the JC5, and the A8 for the A10. To top things off, I bought a few linear power supplies to replace the wallwarts that powered the Bose equalizers, my STB and a powered audio switch that allows me to use one sub with either the HT or Eversolo, which are otherwise separate systems. I don’t plan on buying anything else for the forseeable future, not to mention that there is no more room in my audio cabinet.

And I’m in nirvana. I started this journey -- with fits and starts, ups and downs -- fifty years ago. I started with a Marantz integrated amp, Dual TT with Shure cartridge, Technics cassette deck and JBL speakers. But my current system gives me goosebumps when I listen to some recordings, and sheer pleasure the rest of the time. I know there are more expensive (fill in the blank) but I’m happy with the choices I made. Some are probably overkill, or maybe even pointless, but when I’m listening to music, I’m happy, and after all, that’s the point of it all, right?

 

mbarrett635

Glad you found something that you can really enjoy. That is the ultimate goal. 

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Oh no, you're not done....Nirvana ain't there yet, while you  keep coming to these forums.

Soon, you will look at a Marantz AV10....and you will look at some speakers much better than that Bose crap.

Oh no...you're not done...

Bwaaaahahahahaa Bwaaaahahahahahaha Bwaaaaahahahahahahaha [EVIL LAUGHS echoing through the canyon]

 

I am in sonic nirvana for the price i paid and the job i did....

Keep your sarcasm...

@deep_333 Lol. You may be right. I said I was done buying new camera gear, but that was five bodies ago.
I doubt I’ll ever replace the Bose speakers, as they do a really great job as HT surround speakers; the center speaker is carrying most of the water in that setup.
I’m loving my JC5, but if I won the lottery, I’d be all over a pair of Parasound JC100 monoblocks. I might also look at different speakers (but probably still in the Usher lineup). But there are many other things that I would spend my money on first (not audio related).

Usher tends to make some very nice sounding speakers. I think you could set up a hybrid multichannel/2 channel rig optimized for music around your marantz & parasound gear.

You would need a pair of the Usher Mini-x standmount speakers as surrounds...and a couple of subwoofers, of course. The Usher floorstanders should image well that you wouldn't need a center channel.

Try some of the music upmixers, Auromatic, Neural X, DSU, etc in your Marantz with a 4 channel setup like that...might be hard to go back to stereo when you get it tweaked just right.

@deep_333 Lol. You may be right. I said I was done buying new camera gear, but that was five bodies ago.
I doubt I’ll ever replace the Bose speakers, as they do a really great job as HT surround speakers; the center speaker is carrying most of the water in that setup.
I’m loving my JC5, but if I won the lottery, I’d be all over a pair of Parasound JC100 monoblocks. I might also look at different speakers (but probably still in the Usher lineup). But there are many other things that I would spend my money on first (not audio related).

Hey man you came a long way very quickly and sounds like you have a good dealer. Congrats and just enjoy the music if you feel the need to upgrade just stop yourself and try to really think am I chasing an upgrade or a sidegrade?

"Guiding your visions of heaven, and heaven is in your mind...."

Enjoy until you don't.... ;) 👍