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Upgrade Amp or CD/Sacd...Help Needed

I have 3-grand burning a hole in my wallet.....My system consists of Mark Levinson 38S preamp....Nakamichi PA-7 200watt power amp...Sony SCD-XA777ES CD/SACD player....Jbl L300 speakers...All Acoustic Zen cables/interconnects.

My system sounds very good, but......I am looking to get that extra bit in dynamics. Would it make more sense to upgrade the CD/SACD to maybe an Ayre C-5XE or Upgrade the Amp to a Mcintosh MC252? My current setup is all RCA....the jump to either of the 2-choices would be balanced through the Levinson 38S.

I have narrowed my choice to the 2-mentioned, (no need to recommend other brands). I will die before I give up the L300's (there's probably enough wood from the Jbl's to make a nice casket) and am a Levinson Preamp advocate.

The Mcintosh has only 50-more watts than the Nak but the jump to a balanced run to the preamp may make a difference. The Ayre is highly regarded and sounds fantastic while allowing SACD playback which I have found addictive.

any advice welcomed,

Thanks
troodon
needfreestuff's avatar
needfreestuff
572 posts
 
I had the PA 7 for 25 years recently upgraded to a Pass Labs 350.5 which was a MAJOR improvement. Could not believe how much better the bass was not to mention improved detail and soundstage. Happy Holidays.
zmanastronomy's avatar
zmanastronomy
738 posts
 
I went with a Modwright Sony and was amazed at the difference it made in my system.
I would also consider an S.E.T. tube amp as an upgrade.
Either way, it will be a step forward.
audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
The original manufacturer's paperwork from JBL recommends 150WPC for optimum performance.

That being said, the SET tube amp is probably a very poor idea.

IMO, the Pass X350.5 won't be much of an upgrade over the Nakamichi but the higher powered models from the XA.5 series of Class A amps would.

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