Help me spend $100,000 on a new system


I’ve recently been considering moving and downsizing my home. While exploring how much I might sell my house and land for, I was shocked that I might have an excess of $100,000 after selling and buying a smaller new home with less acreage. I’m 71 years old and can’t take it with me, so I’m trying to figure out how to spend that potential resource.

One possibility would be to purchase a new stereo system with all that cash. I would like to demo a system costing that much to see what sound quality you could get for a stupendous amount like that. But I don’t have any idea what brand/model components to look at. Perhaps you could suggest components you might consider if you were setting up a system at that price point. Also how would you budget the total amount per component including wiring.

I am not interested in adding streaming or anything else I might not already have to the system. I would be open to buying separates to replace any single component such as the integrated amplifier. Maybe a separate DAC, phono stage, preamp etc. Please tell me what you would do.

Following are the components I already have to upgrade. My system consists of Magico A3 speakers, a Luxman 507uX MK2 integrated amp, a Marantz Ruby KI CD/SACD player, A VPI Classic 2 turntable with a Fatboy tonearm and a Lyra Kleos cartridge. Wiring consists of Audioquest Rocket 88 speaker cables, and VPI house brand wires that connect to the tonearm. I forget the brands of the other wires and cables, but they are of similar quality to the above.

I also have a Shunyata Hydra Denali 4000 power conditioner with a Venom power cord (I think) that I will continue to use without upgrading.

I would welcome any of your suggestions and utilize them next time I go up to Washington DC to visit dealer showrooms for demos. Thank you much.

It does sound weird to consider spending that much on a system costing over three times what I paid for my first home, so I hope I’m not sounding uppity here.

Mike

 

 

skyscraper

Your equipment is already very good but I would definitely upgrade to separates, preamp and amp, my suggestion would be the Simaudio 861 amp and the 850p preamp, also you could upgrade all the wiring to the NeoTech rectangular OCC wire which is far superior to anything OFC and even better than the round OCC, other than that everything else you can keep.

If I was in your situation I'd take a year off and demo/listen/research at dealer(s) letting them know what your plans are. AND, during this 1 year invest that $100000 in a GIC. If it's locked away, your forced to take a year and really figure out where you want to spend. The interest alone would pay for a trip to an Audio show of your choice or room treatments. Plus, you already have a kick ass system to listen to in your new room. Once the new room is treated you may find that is the improvement you've been looking for.

Mike,

Just travel, travel and travel. You have a great system already. If you are not happy with your beautiful system, it's just mean 1 thing, your hearing is jacked up already! Just invest on a great hearing aid then travel!

 

Congratulations! This is a fun opportunity. My take on this is that you are the most eligible candidate I have ever seen to go to an Audio Show. That is the only way you can see and hear a broad range of equipment without visiting a dozen or more showrooms. AXPONA (Chicago) happens April 12th through the 14th and they are giving a discount to early ticket buyers. I recommend going for the Gold Pass where you get access to a special lounge where you can rest and meet other well heeled audiophiles. I met my bestie audio buddy at the 2018 AXPONA and I ended up buying my beloved Thiel speakers from him.

I hate to tell you this but $100K is really not that much money when it comes to buying a new audio system. You could blow that on cables and power conditioning. You will see dozens of speakers that will cost most or all of your upgrade budget so you will have to be careful and strategic in getting the most for your buck.

I'm also going to make a few general gear recommendations based on my direct experience. I'm going to assume that you will have a pretty good idea about your room before you start buying new gear.

1. Focus on the speakers first. If you find a pair of speakers that you really like then you can decide on the amplification. Your current integrated amp is no slouch. However, if you fall in love with a pair of high sensitivity horn speakers then you would likely want to go with a lower wattage amp (tubes probably) that would be a good match for them. Conversely, if you decide on a pair of low sensitivity speakers with a difficult impedance curve then you will want a beefy amp to drive them.

2. Regarding digital gear, I have a KI Ruby SACD player, Berkeley Reference 2 MQA DAC, a Tubadour IV DAC, and a Jay's audio CD3 MK3 transport. I'm going to be honest and tell you that there isn't a lot of difference between the Jay's/Berkeley combo and the KI Ruby. I think most audiophiles would have difficulty identifying them in a blind test. If I were in your position I would focus on the speakers and amplification and keep your Marantz player unless you really desire a separate transport and DAC. BTW, I absolutely love my Jay's Audio transport and Berkeley DAC - they are beautiful pieces of gear and a joy to operate. I don't care if they don't blow away my KI Ruby in sound quality. They are fun to own.

3. Once you have become familiar with what's available you will be in a much better position to explore the option of buying used gear. This is the golden age for high end used audio and you can make your budget go a lot farther. There are so may choices that it takes some diligence but it's worth the reward.

I am 68, retired, and in the position that I could spend a fair bit of cash upgrading my system. I am running Thiel CS6 speakers, Krell KSA 300S amp, and a KRC-2 preamp. My core system is late 90's vintage; about 25 years old. I've been to three audio shows and I have come to the conclusion that it's going to cost me a whopping expenditure to better my system. Most of the systems I have heard sound fine but they aren't better than what I have. In several cases I have heard six-figure systems that clearly weren't as good as mine. I've heard several where the cables and power conditioners cost more than my entire system and they didn't impress me. A few have stood out, particularly MBL 101 E MKII speakers, but they are $80K. I could afford them if I really wanted them but I just can't justify spending the money.

As one geezer to another - have fun and don't be in a hurry. The process can be a lot of fun.

When it comes to conventional NFL wisdom, it's easier to get worse than it is to get better when you change quarterbacks. So, with that in mind, I'd keep your current system and see how it sounds in your new home. If it sounds better, then problem solved. If it's the same or worse, then I'd jump on the upgrade train; but, I'd start slow with things like cable upgrades or upgrading the component that you consider to be the weakest link. My most recent upgrade involved adding a CD transport that outputs I2S, and my return on investment was huge!

I'm with you when it comes to avoiding a streamer, as I've experienced enough format changes in my lifetime (vinyl to tape to CD to HDCD to SACD).