Agree with sub recommendation; for your budget you can't do much of an improvement in your TT setup. Cambridge is (IMO) a weak link, but since it serves multiple functions, may not be able to improve within your budget. Let you wife select a nice area rug; can help tame a somewhat live room and give her input into the room aesthetic.
What's the weakest link in my stereo set up? I live in a townhome, so limited on space.
90% of my time is used listening to records. The other 10% is used by my wife and I to just stream TIDAL or Spotify.
I live in a three story townhome. High ceilings. Not wide rooms, but long.
I would love to be able to use a room just for the stereo, but I cannot. I like staying married, which also means I cannot turn our guest bedroom into just a music-listening adventure room. So, the stereo is in my living room on the first floor. This also means I don’t have room for floor standing speakers.
Focal 906 bookshelf speakers
Technics SL-1210 Mk II (modded out by KAB USA)
Currently using a Nagaoka MP-150 cartridge
McIntosh MP100 phono amp
Cambridge EVO 150 stereo amplifier, entertainment hub, streamer, etc (my wife uses this a lot to stream Spotify while going about the house)
Topping A70Pro headphone amplifier
I’m going to assume people are going to say either my turntable or my speakers. Would it be wise to upgrade my Technics to one of the higher end models? I really love the ease of using this little beast of a player. I know it’s known as "the DJ turntable", but it wasn’t made to be one -- it just became that.
The Focals are nice too, and they were also bought new for less than a grand.
(Also, sorry if this is subjective as a question. I’m new to a lot of this. I hope something stands out as an obvious room to upgrade no matter what your tastes are.
Also, I’ve been selling some of the equipment that my late father had, and while doing so I’ve been getting interested in upgrading the system I cobbled together years ago. And no, for emotional and attachment reasons, I didn’t want to keep things that he owned.)
Budget ~$2K
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Spotify in NG compressed files buy a copy dedicated dac or much better dac streamer combo buy a sub for your speakers ,a$600 Svs pro 1000 with a nice remote app To adjust ,cables, power chords for the money Pangea sig,MK2 Wireworld Equinox would be perfect for your setup, very good quality reasonable price |
Focal speakers only go down to 55 Hz ... so @travelinjack is probably the best suggestion; your TT set up is commendable; upgrades with cart et cetera will be marginal compared to opening up the low end! Switch the Cambridge out on next upgrade as @fatdaddy2 correctly identified ... plenty of great options await Good luck! |
An old time audio buddy of mine (and audio store owner) used to tell me "you can't get big speaker sound from a small speaker." A generality I know but if it's scale that you are seeking, bookshelves won't provide it. A nice compact pair of floor standers will have the same footprint as bookshelf + stands. As suggested above adding a sub will fill out the bottom end. It takes time and effort but can take small speakers to a new height. That depends on budget and space consideration of course and willingness to tweak and adjust. Some of the best "scale" in music I have owned was provided by a pair of Magnepan LRS's + 2 small subs. Not always practical I know. I'd maybe seek a compact pair of floor standers first IMHO....
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I have and love the Focal 906's even though I paid twice your price. My adding a single Rel S510 sub gave my system a massive lift. If I could do it again, I would have spent the same money on two smaller subs. Due to desired aesthetics, the sub should be better positioned; however, it still improves my 906's immensely. |
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