Where to go from here?
I have a treated dedicated room with pmc ci140 speakers. So my room and speakers are done. Now i need to get the front end up to par. The pmc speakers are being fed by a denon 3700h to monolith amplifier. I rather not get hung up on which brand is best but what makes a bigger positive improvement? I can purchade a reference dac with volume like a weiss 501 or tambaqui, or i could buy a quality integrated like a mcintosh ma9500 or hegel 590. If i get the weiss or tambuqui it will be awhile until my wallet cools off, so i would keep the monolith amp for a few years. If i get a quality integrated it would be a few yrs until i got a reference seperate dac. Sooooo......what the heck makes sense and which would make the biggest improvement? Thanks
@davekuyt11 Are you targeting an integrated (preamp+amp and sometimes a DAC) or are you targeting separates? Integrated offers the best bang/buck saving on caseworks and cables, but separates perform better and allow for future incremental upgrades.
If an integrated with a DAC, I suggest a Hegel H390 w a DAC as a safe bet. Plenty of positive reviews including the DAC . The H590 is only marginally better, maybe not worth the increased price. |
That is all so helpful. Really. I just love this hobby and use my music room a lot. Therefore I would like to shoot for a substantial outcome over an incremental one. I am not against integrated. I heard the mohican cd player from hegel and also a mcintosh integrated. Both systems were impressive but different. Hegel was detailed and euphoric. Vocals on mcintosh were perfect. Not sure what i would like best long term. I was hoping to get a quality dac with volume and network and go xlr straight to the amp. Less equipment. Just a reference dac, amp and speaker. It sounds lile everyone is suggesting a quality integrated or seperates that includes a dac and get a reference dac at a later time. Are the volume and streaming on reference dacs like a weiss 501 or mola mola not the same as a seperate streamer and a good integrated or preamp volume? |
OP, I think you will find the vast majority of audiophiles still require/use a preamplifier, even if they do not have an analog end. The straight from source to amp requires equipment that is exceptional and compatible. My guess is 90%+ have not been able to pull it off and have gone back to preamps. Unless, you are incredibly experienced and willing to swap all of your electronics I would not try it. You are likely to end up with dry analytical sounding sound. The really important decision here is the kind of sound you are looking for. Extremely detailed, or detailed and musical. Let me put my 2 cents in here. You probably want musical… tremendous details sound with slam like a great thing… but it frequently lacks the emotional connection most folks actually crave. As far as keeping the Denon. Ok. But mixing HT and audio generally kills the audio side. Compromise is on the side of audio, They have two different objectives. If there is any possibility of separating the functions… I would recommend it. I would rather have a tiny separate room for my audio system then be able to spend 5 times more and combine them. I have heard incredible systems in rooms the size of a closet and horrible combined HT / audio systems costing many times more. |
+1ghdprentice! I used to have what I thought was a killer 5 channel surround system with also great 2 channel stereo. Fortunately my processor broke and led me to exploring 2 channel only. So much better AND it images so well it is (for me) perfect for the video we watch. Also totally agree the pre amp adds a lot to a two channel set up. I am not a Macintosh fan and find them warm and dull sounding compared to my Audionet stuff and much other stuff as well. The Tambaqui I do have and it is amazing, but do not use its volume control as it strips bits and you lose resolution. I have tried several nice DACs without a Preamp and always found it better with a Preamp.
For me, if you want an integrated, get one without a DAC so you can find your way independently. Integrated + Streamer +DAC or Streamer + DAC + Preamp + amp(s). |
A consideration to keep your cost down, then be able to expand down the road if you desire would be the separate 2 channel Parasound ZPre3 preamp, which has HT pass through. As your Denon has the preouts necessary: ‘front’ preouts to the ZPre3 main input, then out to your amp. In pass though mode, the Denon will still use your amp for HT, just as you do now. At that point, you could experiment with various DAC’s over time, connected to the Parasound ZPre3 for seperate 2 channel music bypassing the Denon entirely. This would provide a lot of options moving forward. |
