Best upgrade for the money ?

Kuryl: Take a look to the power side. power cords used for 150-180 for master couplers or lower with MIT Z cord II are WAY better power cords compared to most standard ones ... A dedicated power circuit+grounding rod is an excellent cost/performance upgrade if you throw in a Monster HTS 2000 better yet and if you play with room placement of your equipment racks and vibration control on the pre, CD player and your amp you´ll be surprised how much you can still wring out of most gear pieces..... Regards

The Micromega Stage 2 is a week link. I used to have the Micromega Stage 6. which was very nice, and currently have the Micromega Premium DVD2, whcih is awesome ! It is a great cd player too, and an even better audio transport coupled with the Bel Canto DAC-1. Remember that the Stage 2 was the entry level unit in the Stage lineup, and is an "old" piece my today's standards. I've seen a couply Stage 6's go for about $500. Consider looking at a better source, or even maybe an outboard DAC. $800 can easily get you a Bel Canto or Perpetual Technolgies DAC on the used markets. The EAD UltraDsic 2000 cd player is also a very nice unit and goes for less than $1K used. The Rega Planet also goes for cheap too. - Andy

I am unfamiliar with your CD front end, but if it has a digital out an anti-jitter filter might be a very sound investment. Theta digital makes a good one that's not too expensive, and so does camelot technologies (I use theirs). My own system improved from that upgrade significantly. Also added a Monster Power HTS2500 AC conditioning unit that improved things noticeably as well. Good luck. Mark

I agree with getting rid of the mid fi polks for something more hi end. Sell the Polks & throw in another $700 to get somthing decent (there would be many different speakers to choose from which will walk all over the Polks). The Polks simply don't do justice to the rest of your system ...no offense intended.

As a long-time Polk owner, I know how you must be feeling. I was fairly happy with all the models that I owned (s-10, rt-10, rt-12, rt-800) But ultimately, when I decided to upgrade my speakers, I already had everything else in place. Rega Planet, Conrad Johnson PV10AL preamp, Parasound HCA 1000A amplifier, Audioquest Topaz interconnects, and Midnight speaker cables.(I've since uprgaded everything but the Rega)When I dropped the Hales Revelation 3s into the system, I was not immediately "floored" by the overall improvement, as some people claim to be when changing components, although I did immediately notice a difference. WE get used to our "sound" after all, and usually, we tend to like it. Over the next few days, I spent a lot of free time listening, and began to notice details that I had never noticed before in familiar recordings. THe top end was free(er) from grain and the bottom end was awesome, tight and free from attention-grabbing boominess. After a few weeks, I realized that I was now in the presence of a truly special, more refined speaker than before. As someone who is familiar with Polk speakers, I would suggest, that if you like the general characteristics of your sound (imaging, bass response, sounstage, treble smoothness, etc), Keep the speakers. Put some $ into another area of your system that you feel is lacking. I am not familiar with Sim, but I seem to recall that it is fairly well-reviewed. I am not familiar with your front end either, but if it is more than 5 years old, you probably can beat it for not too much money. Or get a DAC. IF you are not happy with the sound you are getting, and want a CHANGE (as opposed to refinement of the current sound) buck up, and start looking at speakers. Dont buy, necessarily, but visit some stores, go out of town to another city, and check out different brands. It took me 8 months to find the right ones (and it turned out that I only kept them for 1.5 years) and that may not have been long enough. Dont walk into a store with any unnecessary pre-conceived notions, like "I want a floorstander" or "I want a 2-way speaker". Just listen. Something will probably catch your ears. If you have to, wait until you can spend more money, or once you have decided what you want, buy used. There's lots of different speakers out there, and chances are, there are some that you will enjoy as much as you have enjoyed your polks, but will match in performance any future upgrades to upstream components. Good luck!!!