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System advice

I’m still a newbie to audio world, but a couple years ago I got Monitor Audio Platinum PL II speakers with XLO Signature cables (good old stuff), Arcam Alpha 9 amp & preamp and Naim CD5 XS with FlatCap XS. Sound was great for me - juicy, involving, deep. But then I was talked into having the whole stack from Naim. I replaced Arcam amp/preamp with Naim NAC XS 152 & Naim NAP 155 XS. I was told it will be an upgrade from Arcam and that having full stack from Naim will provide great synergy.

The problem is.. I almost stopped listening to the music right after this change. There’s something unpleasant in the sound. There’s a lot of details, good resolution but... I don’t feel amused anymore.

Recently I understood that there is no synergy between speakers/cables and amp/preamp. It’s like some sweetness, warm is missing in this sound..

But now I have no idea in what direction I should go. Any advice for a noobie?

 

gabriel123
kennyc
2,036 posts
 

Maybe the MBL C41 Network Player.  Doubles as a pre, DAC, and has streaming.  Reviews seem to indicate a ridiculously great sonic buy as it was demoed with MBL's top-of-the-line revealing system.

gabriel123 OP
35 posts
 

I finally bought  Lampizator Big 7 MK II with Engine 11 and David Laboga Emerald MK II USB cable to connect Lampi to my temporary streamer which is Mac Mini.

I'm satisfied for now - Pacific was obviously better, but also 4 times more expensive. I should probably now have some fun with tube rolling because this unit came with the default tubes and Pacific came with KR Audio tubes. 

 

Next stem is to start looking for a proper pre & amp. From some reasons I decided not to go into Octave family. I'm thinking now about Audio Research or maybe something from my own country like Ancient Audio - no idea if it's known anywhere else.

kennyc
2,036 posts
 

Lampi + Emerald - excellent choices!  Enjoy!

Good luck on your pre+amp search. Thanks for sharing.

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