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Sound is too thin. What to upgrade, add or remove?

Need your advise - please have a look at my system below (click on the system link). Just in the past couple of months or so it seems, my setup started to sound way too thin in my ears. It feels as though the bottom-end is just not enough anymore. But I as you can see from the pictures, I try to stay on the minimulist side of things. The aesthetics are very important as well (WAF). I can't really have too much exposed gear (WAF). What can I do to boost the overall sonics of this system without adding a sub? How much more can a power conditioner add? What about replacing the power tubes, IC's and adding a DAC? or should I switch to a different amp - like a Gamut (SS) 200/wcp? What other push-pull (100 wpc or more) quality tube amps are out there? My budget is $2K - $3K plus the value of current amp if I were to swap it out.

I really appreciate your comments. Thank you.

Jewel
128x128jewel_hasan
ozfly
887 posts
 
Kal & Robm are spot on. Your room looks like a poster child for rooom treatments. Some of these can have a high WAF (I actually prefer PAF - partner acceptance factor). For example, I just got some nice thick curtains for my room to cover the windows -- big difference! Some acoustic treatments hidden by tapestries can work well in other parts of the room. There are a lot of great threads and readings on room treatments and that's where I would start.
wellfed's avatar
wellfed
690 posts
 
Zcable Heavy Thunder power cords and good component isolation might provide some more weight with your setup as it sits.
thorman
1,262 posts
 
Owning 1.0 Kharmas myself and all the juggling I have done,I must agree with the suggestions already mentioned.Kharmas need room to breath! You have the room ,you just need to bring them out into the room and also your equipment furniture is cramping the speakers from the inside center section also.Bring the speakers out and leave the equipment cabinet up against the wall and create some room . I have my Kharmas spread apart about the same as mentioned. About 75" woofer to woofer center.About the same as mention.Try to create a listening triangle if you can and keep the dimensions as close to the same as possible. If you move your speakers 6 feet apart, try putting you listening chair about the same distance away ( just for starters ) and adjust as needed. You may need to bring in some softer material ,rug,curtains etc, but try the positioning first.....Goog Luck
ipy
113 posts
 
I agree with some of the responses above that you might want to try to fix the "basics" 1st before spending big $$$ on component upgrades. I will also start with simple tweaks (if you have not done this already) for eg: clean all cable contacts with a good contact cleaner (Caig ProGold and DeOxit or Kontak) and then enhance it with Walker SST. My experience is after doing this, it is equal to a component upgrade. The music just opens up and became fuller minus the glare associated with digital playback. For approx. $100 it was money very well spend IMO.
Good luck.
ozfly
887 posts
 
Ipy, what is Walker SST? Thanks
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