Hi & welcome aboard..First there is a current thread on "Advise for Building a new system"with a lot of good tips,check it out..Second,the abundance of positive gear reviews is a testament to the fact that at no time in our history has so much great gear been available at prices everyone can aspire to.The gap in performance between so called entry level & high end has never been as blurred as now & the law of diminishing returns on cost of entry never so low....
As for specific recommendations please keep in mind I know nothing about using Roon in these systems so you’ll need to source that intel from elsewhere...
All in 1 amplifier/control gear from entry level like Cambridge Audio/Creek/Audiolab/iFi Audio & others are a solid start with more expensive(but NOT necessarily better sounding)units from Hegel/SimAudio/McIntosh/Ayre/Gold Note & others anchoring systems in the high 10 figure level the world over..Adding tubes to the equation pretty much means going with separates with tubes on the power amplifier side offering the best performance with a Solid State PreAmplifier/Streaming control unit up front..As for speakers I prefer natural materials like wood/paper pulp for low end drivers & silk dome tweeters with companies like Sonus Faber/Dali/PMC/Spendor/Harbeth & Dynaudio class leaders & companies like B&W/Monitor Audio & Focal using differing metal materials for tweeters, adding a bit more sparkle on top end while(IMO)losing a touch of that organic/natural tone from silk or poly materials..Also don’t overlook PreAmp/Streaming control units from the headphone market makers like Audio GD/iFi Audio/Burson Audio/Danafrips & others as they,IMO,are the driving force for better sounding DACs & Streaming systems at lower prices than mainstream audio companies..Lastly don’t spend big on cables at the start,wait until you have the gear sorted out then experiment with more expensive cables & make up your own mind as to the benefits & don’t be afraid to look at the gently used gear market where your $ can go a lot farther than buying new...
Finally a recommendation for you:
Speakers:Sonus Faber Lumina V...
Electronics:McIntosh MA5300 or something from Hegel driving them...
I hope this helps a little,good luck & I’ll look for an update when that system starts coming together...
Advice for 2-channel system (speakers/amp/dac)
I'm kinda new to hifi audio, so please have patience as I try to provide enough info to make it possible to get advice from all you knowledgable people.
I want a 2-channel system with speakers, amp, and dac/streamer for a large room - about 20 x 25.
My goals and uses are:
- Both listen to music and play electric guitar along to songs
- System has to be decently powerful wattage wise since my guitar amps get pretty loud
- I'd like to stream music from my iphone using Apple Music or Roon (with Quboz). I might like to eventually add a budget turntable, but it's not a huge deal..
- I want immersive soundstage
- I mainly like guitar-oriented rock (especially 70s), but also like more modern indie/trip hop
My budget is around $10k, but I could go up some if there was good reason to. For reference, a couple systems I auditioned and liked were:
- Wilson Audio Sabrina Speakers with Aavik integrated amp (this combination is well above my budget, but it sounded great).
- Source Point 10 with Prima Luna Evo 200 (I think)
I'm not inherently picky about an integrated amp vs. pre/power, nor am I against a DAC being embedded with the amp.
Let me know if you need more info/preferences. Frankly, I just feel overwhelmed with the amount of gear out there with positive reviews, so hoping hearing others' experience will get me over the hump.
Thanks!!
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