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What's the weakest link in my stereo set up? I live in a townhome, so limited on space.

90% of my time is used listening to records. The other 10% is used by my wife and I to just stream TIDAL or Spotify.

I live in a three story townhome. High ceilings. Not wide rooms, but long.

I would love to be able to use a room just for the stereo, but I cannot. I like staying married, which also means I cannot turn our guest bedroom into just a music-listening adventure room. So, the stereo is in my living room on the first floor. This also means I don’t have room for floor standing speakers.

Focal 906 bookshelf speakers

Technics SL-1210 Mk II (modded out by KAB USA)

Currently using a Nagaoka MP-150 cartridge

McIntosh MP100 phono amp

Cambridge EVO 150 stereo amplifier, entertainment hub, streamer, etc (my wife uses this a lot to stream Spotify while going about the house)

Topping A70Pro headphone amplifier

 

I’m going to assume people are going to say either my turntable or my speakers. Would it be wise to upgrade my Technics to one of the higher end models? I really love the ease of using this little beast of a player. I know it’s known as "the DJ turntable", but it wasn’t made to be one -- it just became that.

The Focals are nice too, and they were also bought new for less than a grand.

(Also, sorry if this is subjective as a question. I’m new to a lot of this. I hope something stands out as an obvious room to upgrade no matter what your tastes are.

Also, I’ve been selling some of the equipment that my late father had, and while doing so I’ve been getting interested in upgrading the system I cobbled together years ago. And no, for emotional and attachment reasons, I didn’t want to keep things that he owned.)

Budget ~$2K

128x128vrikkian
beernut's avatar
beernut
299 posts
 

An old time audio buddy of mine (and audio store owner) used to tell me "you can't get big speaker sound from a small speaker." A generality I know but if it's scale that you are seeking, bookshelves won't provide it. A nice compact pair of floor standers will have the same footprint as bookshelf + stands. As suggested above adding a sub will fill out the bottom end. It takes time and effort but can take small speakers to a new height. That depends on budget and space consideration of course and willingness to tweak and adjust. Some of the best "scale" in music I have owned was provided by a pair of Magnepan LRS's + 2 small subs. Not always practical I know. I'd maybe seek a compact pair of floor standers first IMHO....

 

hrlywd
3 posts
 

I have and love the Focal 906's even though I paid twice your price. My adding a single Rel S510 sub gave my system a massive lift. If I could do it again, I would have spent the same money on two smaller subs. Due to desired aesthetics, the sub should be better positioned; however, it still improves my 906's immensely.

dynacohum
661 posts
 

I would do the stylus, but also explore improving your speakers. Focal 906 have a nice tweeter, but my experience with them leaves me wanting more defined midrange and bass extension. There are better options with similar cabinet size. 
 

vrikkian's avatar
vrikkian OP
8 posts
 

About subs, I’ve never looked into it because, as noted, space is a major factor.  I cannot simply put the sub in front of the cabinet since that’s walking space.

 

Putting a sub into an empty cabinet space is a hard pass too, right? My cabinet is both open on the front and back, so heat is not an issue. I’ve had my phono and stereo amp on one of my cabinet’s shelves for years now and have no issues at all.

wfowenmd
94 posts
 

I’m now retired and downsized to a three story townhouse after decades of audiophilia. My guidance is to sound treat your listening space(s) to mitigate spot-specific variances. What ever equipment you upgrade to, it will sound better in a sonically optimized room.  

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