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Upgrading your system three options DAC, Cartridge or speaker cables???

Got the urge to do a little unexpensive upgrade. With a budget up to $1000 give or take I pondered where to target my next upgrade. First my system:

Linn TT well upgraded.   5-6 yr old Ortofon 2M Black

Bells Virtuoso dual amp

Audible Illusion 3M- A pre

Vandys 2CE Sig - Kimber 12tc

Bluesound Node 2I. Qobuz.  Red River interconnect

I mostly (80%) listening to streaming since I'm new to the technology and love discovering new artists. I bought the Bluesound in 3/21. The SQ, I believe is good or even better than CD. I'm reasonable pleased but it's not Vinyl quality. Classic rock, jazz, prog rock are my favorite tunes. 

Considering: investing in Canare 4S 11 cables to replace Kimbers. Or Rocket 33 since I need bi wire. OR Invest in a DAC like the Gustard, Denafrip or Shiit. OR replace the cartridge with a Hanna SL (I'll need to add a phono setup) 

Someaudiophiles recommend starting with the input, Cartridge/ DAC, then working toward the output, cables. Others recommend just cables (Vandys recommend Audioquests) and enjoy the system until next upgrade!

As you can see the options are many, but what I'm interested is members suggestions as to where to start, input or output. Suggestions for equipment, cables, cartridge are also welcome. Thanks

 

128x128lobinero
jjss49's avatar
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jjss49
6,612 posts
 

since you say you stream music most of the time,  i would say the onboard dac inside the node 2i is a substantial bottleneck for sound quality in your set up

there are many standalone dacs in the $1000 range to consider that will outperform it... just search the digital section for discussions on dacs in that price range

good luck

jasonbourne52's avatar
jasonbourne52
2,863 posts
 

If you have a substantial LP collection then go for a better mc cartridge/phono stage. Wire should be the least of your concerns!

jasonbourne52's avatar
jasonbourne52
2,863 posts
 

In fact I would just keep using the Audible Illusions preamp for LP playback. No pressing need to add a separate phono stage!

lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,417 posts
 

I agree that since you're into streaming you need a standalone DAC, don't forget the cable. The Node internal Dac isn't capable of competing with CD quality. This will be a very audible upgrade to your system.

 

 

oranfoster's avatar
oranfoster
127 posts
 

Two ideas; and in the the spirit of being in this mad hobby, both of them are a teeny tiny bit more than your target budget.

I just added an RME ADI DAC-2 FS to my system and I'm a bit shocked at how much it outperforms the very capable Accuphase DAC-40 Option card installed in my E-470. I'm a total Accuphase fan, so didn't expect such a jump in SQ. I purchased the RME partly because it is so feature laden. It's just plain fun to use and a joy to look at. It's paired with a NODE, and also the optical out of our TV. I sometimes see used RME's for about a grand here and on UsAudiomart. Obviously there are a lot of great DACS out there and some would make the case that the RME could be bettered in sound quality for the price, but I can think of no other DAC that is so full of features.

My other idea is to get a Hana MH. I bought one for a secondary system in which I wanted to use an inexpensive phono preamp so I figured that the high-output version would lower the noise floor enough that any loss in ultimate resolution inherent in the higher mass of the pick-up would be a good tradeoff. This cart on a modest system is freakin' awesome. I'm going to replace my Ortofon Cadenza Black with it on my main system for an experiment and I'm girding myself for the possibility that this HOMC at half the price of the Ortofon LOMC will sound amazing. 

Well, you have a fun problem to solve. I'm sure you'll get a lot of other worthy ideas too.

~Oran

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