Where do I go from here, keep it clean

Nrchy, haven't heard the system since all the changes you went through but if it got better than it was all I can say is WOW!. Looking forward to hearing it. A good friend of mine who will remain nameless told me after I did some changes to listen to it before I did anything else. Might be an idea. If you want to change something I go along with Mejames. Get the ModWright done on the Sony. That way you can tell me what you think since that's the direction I'm thinking about going for my Sony. If I can convince you to do the upgrade then I get to hear it before I try it. I like that idea. Be up to GB in a little while.

A very nice system, one that you must enjoy a lot! While I think the TT/cartridge could well be upgraded, the older SOTAs had a liveliness to them that the more expensive TTs lose a little of, so I'd resist that change except perhaps to go further up in the Benz line of cartridges and upgrade the Rega wiring, as Jfrech suggests. I also agree with Mejames, a mod for your Sony would be a fairly cost-effective upgrade--my Sony was upgraded by both Jerry Ozment (unfortunately, not available anymore) and Richard Kern, I can attest that a properly modified Sony SCD777ES is a top rung digital player in both CD and SACD modes. The Modwright mod that is suggested above would be an excellent choice, as you'll need to upgrade the analog stage of the Sony to hear what it is truly capable of doing, and a little tube magic in your system might prove interesting. But in the meantime, just sit back and enjoy your system!

The weakest part of your system is the Benz Glider Cartridge. Benz has really terrific trade-in trade-up offers which would make getting a Ruby III the way to go. The Glider is nice, but with you Pass Phono Pre, you are not even coming close to what it and your TT are capable of doing.

First, let me qualify my upcoming statements by saying that I’ve ruined more people conceptions of what constitutes a good system than I care to remember. Meanwhile I make progress with my own system unabated.

Here is what I would do:
Allocate a budget for your improvements, since what I’m about to propose has potentially high cost exposure, so it needs to be managed. OK, $2500? That should work.

Next, draw a plan of your room on the computer (you can download free software to do this), and produce a library file of all the items in your room, like racks, storage, chairs, wine cabinets and storage units for any inflatable adult toys etc.
Now, try to find a position for your speakers on a long wall. If it means asymmetric placement, well fine, you can work around this. Visit the Audio Physic website and read up on their approach for positioning speakers. It will have the speakers on a long wall, spread well apart, with your chair hard up against the back wall.
Plan on getting anything out of the room that doesn’t have to be in there, even if it means moving some stuff into the smaller rooms off your basement. All of that superfluous stuff harbors and creates static and other nasties that effect the sound.

Now position all of your racks/storage etc on the computer to provide least interference with the new speaker/seating arrangement. Once you have modeled it on the PC, move everything around so that you have the long wall placement.

Buy one of those Tact units and do the room frequency response measurements yourself. It will be more accurate than what you will get from Rives, since their results are going to be calculated, whereas the Tact results are measured. You can buy the Tact for $1500 and sell it two months later for $1300, so it’s only going to cost you $200. You can then do before and after measurements as you move things around.

Buy some room treatments. There’s a website that sells a ‘kit’ which includes corner treatments and wall treatments. Add some bass busters and whatever else is needed. Experiment with absorption versus diffusion treatments to the rear of the speakers.

Get that support post out of the middle of the room, that should be relatively easy to do and it needs to happen anyway, since it restricts your seating options even with your present setup. Also, lets re-do your lighting arrangement and get rid of all those fluorescent lights, they play havoc with the AC. We can install some nice track-mounted spots and create more room ambience.

Then, order up 100 yards of cryo’d power cables, heat-shrink, flexi-sleeve and the high quality Wattgate 20amp cryo’d connector for your Krell. If your new amp has a built in cord, you can install a good quality Wattgate cryo’d Male receptacle. Buy a 4 way cryo’d strip, one of the $300 units from Chris V’s site, without a cord.
With all the parts together, make two runs of the CVH design cable, both go from separate breakers in your fuse board, one straight into the Krell and the other to the 4 way strip, for your other equipment. You will be amazed at the difference. I just finished my Bustanut project and right out of the box the difference was huge.

I think you will be absolutely delighted (old bean) at the changes, when you have all of the treatments in place, and a room that provides total flexibility of placement.

If you are skeptical, then bring your speakers over to my place and we can experiment with long wall versus short wall placement in my basement. Using the FPB200 we should be able to create a sound that you are familiar with. The room has similar proportions to yours, and if necessary we could rig something up makeshift to close off the Kitchen area at the back of my basement. Doing so would probably have it within a few square feet of the layout of your room. Then we can experiment one versus the other and you will see what I’m spouting about. We could even do it with my box speakers, if you didn’t want to move the Kharma’s.

If you start changing components in your system, like the cartridge or whatever, the differences are going to be subtle, at least in the context of what is ultimately achievable.
Making changes to your room is going to be a revelation. You’ll end up with a soundstage that is huge, both wide and deep. You’ll be 10 steps closer to ‘real’ ‘live’ performers in your room. Everything that you have now will still be there, and then some.

Rooze

Booze, says I. Some wine, perhaps a port or two, some Scotch, maybe a six of Bud tallboys.... Just think how much liquid joy you could purchase for the price of a CD player worthy of sitting on a rack with the rest of that gear. Hey, whaddaya mean I don't get a vote...?