Upgrade your speakers, keep the amp and upgrade cabling.
Which Would You Choose?
My System
NAD M12 Preamp with HDMI/BluOs modules
Parasound Halo JC5 Amp
Arcam DV79 DVD/CD
Sonus Faber Olympica III speakers
Sunfire HRS 10 subs X 2
Audioquest NRG Z2 power cords
Silnote Morpheus Reference Series II XLR
Audioquest Pearl 48 HDMI cables
Audioquest Greyhound sub cables
Aircom S8 cooling unit for amp
Monster Power HTS 3600 MKII
Mogami 2921 speaker wire/bi wired
You all know the desire to improve your sound. Thinking of switching amps again.
Rotel Michi S5
or
Music Fidelity M8s-500s
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- 44 posts total
@soix and @jeffreyw already recommended what I was going to say. I believe your best bang-for-buck upgrade may be a power conditioner. Like you, I have a more mostest system. I dropped an AudioQuest Niagara 5000 w/ Tornado power cable into the system, and I was rewarded with better everything. Part of me was expecting no change at all, or a slight change only that wouldn’t justify the price. After that result I had, I picked up some AQ Hurricane power cables and also put a Niagara 1200 on my TV system. I was pleased with the results. I’ve played with a handful of sub 1k power conditioners and some sub 1k power cables and haven’t been impressed with the results. Another power conditioner that seems to be getting ubiquitously good results is Puritan, which is under 2k USD. I would suggest comparing your Monster conditioner against a standard power strip to start. If you’re not hearing a difference, or if it’s just a slight difference, I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised with a dramatic improvement with a Puritan or Niagara. And, if your results aren’t dramatic like mine were, then sure, put the money into a different component. I can’t speak to your power amp, but I’d think the NAD could be improved upon. My vote would be to consider the Holo Audio Spring or May DAC/pre’s. |
It seems that if in fairness to those seeking an opinion, those rendering an opinion should give the basis for the opinion. If you believe a component is "midfield" whatever that is, you are certainly entitled to your opinion. Obviously, if you have no significant experience, actually listening to that component, that affects the credibility of the opinion. I don't have the ability to judge equipment that I've never heard but perhaps others do |
- 44 posts total