How do you know what you're missing?

As I understand it, clean power is a necessary but insufficient condition for great sound. It’s on the list, just not next on the list. I have some reasonable no bullshit cables from Zu and Cullen that should be good until I need to get to the next level. I have an LPS for my DAC. I’m using a Furman PST-8D because it should protect my equipment without completely screwing up the sound. Plugging directly to the wall is never going to happen. Too much at risk. I’ll look into a regenerator or conditioner seriously when I think it has become the limiting factor. 

@cat_doorman I think you are on the right track with power.  In my experience cables and power conditioners will provide you with that last 5-10% and help bring it all together.  Cables are like tires, they link the performance together.  You want to have your engine and suspension tuned before buying performance tires.  If things are out of alignment tires good tires are a waste of money- although you might feel a difference.

You have a very high efficiency speaker. That gives you a lot of flexibility with low powered amplifiers.  There is plenty of light reading out there on what amps pair well with them- that's where I'd start.  That will likely lead you to examine your source.  That might lead you to examine your power, etc. 

You will find out soon enough if you enjoy cycling through gear, buying, selling, trying different sounds, etc.- that's a real part of the hobby for some audiophiles.  If your fortunate, your partner will be accepting of your relatively benign hobby.  If you start looking for enjoyment in the Fedex delivery more than your family, you need to re-examine your situation and what's really "missing".    

@cat_doorman,

As @mapman said,

"In any pursuit, not just hifi, you have to have a clear vision of the goal or call it the target before you can hit it.

If you are asking the question it sounds like you don’t know what the target is in which case one is shooting blindly.


So how to identify the target? Easy, you listen to a lot of things until you can identify “That sound” you want to hear. Both live music and recordings on good quality “reference systems” help. The more you listen the more your brain becomes trained to recognize that good sound when you hear it.


Then the question becomes how to get it in your room? That’s the other hard part.

But the key is to start with fundamentals. Speakers that will work well in your room, placing them properly for best sound, acquiring an amp capable of not just playing them but driving them to their max, a good quality preamp that matches output impedance well to the amp, and of course a good quality source (setting up a phono rig is a whole story in itself much harder than finding a good quality DAC for streaming)."


A good an introduction as you could want.

This hobby, like so many others, eventually is eventually revealed as no more or no less than a quest for self knowledge and discovery.

Therefore identifying the target (the wish, the goal, the destination, the end stop etc) should be of some interest.

Initially some might find just the journey alone is worthwhile and self fulfilling but eventually that could cease to be the case and impatience and frustration leading to regret might set in.

A better way, I think, is to know yourself first and what you want deep down.

Are you a subjectivist or an objectivist.

Or maybe you’re foremost a pragmatist?

Just how well do you really know yourself?

Bear in mind that this is likely to be a solo journey without much interest from many outsiders.

Who else has the time, the interest, the patience or the resources to assist with someone else’s life journey?

Thankfully, you’re in the right place here to make an educated start.

sgordon1 has said it best.Great comment!!!!