2. misc-audio
  3. 170776-158289

How do you decide what your next upgrade will be?

As "audiophiles" or "audio enthusiasts", I think most of us are constantly on the hunt for our next upgrade to take their system to the "next level". How do you prioritize what your next upgrade will be?

I typically focus on what my weakest link in my system at the time is and choose my next upgrade based on that. But I know some people may upgrade based on "best bang for buck" or maybe other ways. How do you decide?

I have found myself at a crossroads trying to figure out my next upgrade. Right now I believe my DAC is my weakest link (by a long shot). I currently stream from my computer through tidal into a dragonfly cobalt into a Raven nighthawk. My phono preamp is also lacking. I have a VPI scout Aries with a Soundsmith MIMC star going into a Vincent pho-701. I recently purchased two Rythmik f12se subwoofers and I have no speaker isolation at all (isolation could be a potential upgrade). I have also thought about how fun it would be to roll some tubes through my Raven Nighthawk. There are so many possibilities. 
 

With all the upgrades we have to choose from how do you decide what would be most beneficial to your system?

james1911
oldhvymec
5,101 posts
 

OP if you’ve addressed the first 50% of the issue, the ROOM and the electricle grid.

The other 50%, is Gear, speakers, cables, and isolation. The least expensive for the return is isolation and decoupling speaker enclosures, from the rooms floors, ceilings, and walls..

You can hear a difference because of clarity, not through a fog so to speak.

When thing don’t sound right to my ears I try to change the different tones to compensate, when in reality cleaning up smeared multi bass signals was the issue all along.. Clarity and Definition coupled with the imperfect perfections of valve harmonics.. Different story, ay?

Room (low expense)

Electricle and cable routing (low expense)

Decoupling (low expense)

Gear (EXPENSIVE)

Speakers (EXPENSIVE)

Wisdom (priceless)

Regards

femoore12's avatar
femoore12
683 posts
 

For me it has been a combination of what type room I am setting my system up for (now or in the future) and if my music genre preferences have shifted. My previous systems started to struggle due to either room volume/shape as a resulting of moving or if I started listening to different types of music. When that starts happening I start making "improvements".

holmz's avatar
holmz
2,328 posts
 

I have found myself at a crossroads trying to figure out my next upgrade.

^Sounds^ like the opening to, "And I sold my soul".

 

Right now I believe my DAC is my weakest link (by a long shot)

How would you go from belief to proof, or some reasoning that could convince others?

 

The whole "System" talk implies that things are multiplied together.
But it is probably more like a chain analogy,

If there is no fuse in the amp, you have a bit of a problem making sound.

And a $1000 fuse is not going to make a $5 speaker sound 1000x better than a $1 fuse.

That changing cords/fuses/interconnects is mostly just "blind making work". If the Phono amp is not good, just get a good one... putting a "magic tube" in as better phono amp, will likely be more magical than putting it into a phono amp that is flawed (if your’s even is... I really dunno.)

More to discover