What a great response and very much along the lines i suspected. Love the thought of purchasing to take myself permanently out of the market for that component. As to the pre-amp. I have thought about this and I may have to have to use other lesser speakers and dedicate home theater to one system and smaller bookshelves next to my Main 2 channel listening speakers. I am not concerned about the surround sound system quality compared to music listening. This would allow for a new pre-amp and I believe I will end up with the Legacy Wavelet processor pre-amp. Has room correction and of course is matched to my speakers - about 6k.
If someone handed you this system, what would you change?
I was reading the latest post from a member here describing the rabbit hole he went down to find the perfect system. Lots of money spent upgrading lots of different gear. Made me wan to pose this question, and I ask it with this in mind. I am very happy with what I have, but if someone with extensive knowledge were to be handed this setup, what would this person do to swap out/add equipment that would really make a noticable difference. What, in your opinion would you want me to consider. (I will not take as an insult to anything you may say and I do have some pre-conceived ideas as to where this may go, but I really want your opinion)
My system from source to speakers:
Node 2i music streamer with Deezer as prefered music service
Mini DSP DAC with Dirac Live calibrated for my 17 X 25 room
Emotiva XSP1 Pre Amp (with home theater bypass function allowing a yamaha receiver to take over on movie night). Then through balanced connection to:
Emotiva XPA gen 3 Power amp at 400 WPC bi-amped into mids and highs of speakers, and also from pre-amp directly to speakers that have 700 WPC to base drivers of speakers
Speaker wires from power amp to speakers are from Big Ear audio in Tempe Arizona. Owner builds his own cables; paid $800
Speakers: Legacy Audio Focus XD (again, bi amped from power amp and internal power built in to the speakers.
So, that's it. I went with as good as I could when I put this all together at about the same time 3 years ago. I am still really enjoying it BUT..... I feel a hole burning in my pocket for the next upgrade if needed. What do ya think
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You've heard it, what are the current strengths that you want to enhance or what are the weakness you'd like to address? How loud do you play your music and what type of music do you listen too? First there is no perfect system. There are systems that are optimized for traits. Rock concerts are loud, amplified and designed to pound the feeling into you. String quartets are unamplified softer more nuanced and the feeling you get is more of a warm blanket that draws you in. What are you trying to accomplish? For what I listen for, I'd focus on the source. The miniDSP provides equalization but at a cost. They are expensive but a new streamer and digital crossover would do wonders to your existing sound. |
I agree with @stereo5 . Ditch the Emotiva and get a good two channel preamp and amp. I’m also not a fan of DSP except for subs. Not familiar with Deezer, but if it’s compressed audio, go with Qobuz or Tidal.
Those are my thoughts. |
I had a system I enjoyed very much, but, on a whim, I bought a Herron Line Stage. lt, all by itself, improved the sound of my system far beyond anything else I ever replaced. I'm in the process of acquiring a Herron phono stage, I'm in hope it will do the same for my analog front end. That's what made a difference for me. Best to you, Mike, enjoy, Dan |
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