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Getting into audio for around 3500$...problems...

I recently made a jump from a pair of NHT SuperTwos powered by a Denon 1801 receiver and a Pioneer Elite DVC36 DVD player
to
A set of Tyler Ref monitors (1325$)
CAL CL15 cd player (750$)
Rogue Magnum 88 amp (1325$) direct from the cd player, and tried running it though the Denon receiver.
Wiring = shotgun biwire from SignalCable, JPS ultra conductor interconnects

In any case, the jump from my 400$ NHT SuperTwo speakers to the Tylers was huge and well worth the price difference. However the change of the amp and cd player for 1900$ has provided only a marginal improvement, slightly more detail, warmth, soundstage. I was expecting as big a jump as the speaker change...but it wasn't there.

Based on what I've experienced so far I'm leaning towards
selling the amp, cd player and speakers and taking that 3200$ and upgrading the speakers which would run off the denon receiver and the dvd player.
Possibly:
SF Electa Amator II
Merlin VSMs
Audio Physics Virgo 2 or 3's
Aerial Acoustics 10t's
Dyn Countour 3.3's
Vienna Acoustics Beethovens

How many people think I'm smoking crack? *LOL*
After all the research and auditioning I did I was sooo sure I'd be able to hear a BIGGER difference. I suppose in my auditions from now on I should make sure to get at home demos!

What are peoples opinions on me just changing speakers like this? Do you think I'll get the sonic improvement I'm looking for? or do you think going from a 1300$ set of tylers to a 3300$ish set of speakers will only provide a minimal increase in sound quality.

Of course in a year or two I'm sure I'll have more funds and I may try out an integrated with whatever setup I'm running at that point...

and yes, I've tried repositioning my speakers a bunch of times, and I've a/b'ed about a zillion times, yes everything is fully broken in, the room is about 14x18, speakers are about 2ft from back wall, 6ft apart from each other, and I sit about 7 ft from the speakers
geoffgarcia
kthomas
911 posts
 
I'm not familiar with the Rogue, but the difference between a cheap receiver, an okay amp and an excellent amp feeding nice speakers should be readily apparent. I agree with the advice that you should be looking for upgrades that offer immediate, almost jaw-dropping differences, not tweaks. I won't speculate why you didn't hear a difference between the Denon and the Rogue, but the difference I heard instantly between a higher-end Denon receiver and a nice multi-channel amp was big enough that it took one minute of a/b testing to say I'm not going back.

The Dynaudio Contour 3.3's are great speakers, but they'll be using about 3% of their potential driven by the Denon. If you think you're going to be able to buy a $2000 used amp in a year or so, it may be a good buy, but I'd buy something easier to drive if you're going to be sticking with the Denon for any period of time.
drrasta
224 posts
 
I owned a stock Rogue 88. With my Tyler Ref monitors it was one of the best amp combinations. I think you need to use a preamp. I don't know about the CAL CD player--a newer or older model? A Rogue 66 preamp or Anthem Pre2L should mate nicely with the Rogue 88 Magnum and keep you within a budget. Many of the speakers you listed require lots of power to drive (e.g. the Aerial 10T) so you'd be going in another direction and more $$$. Try a preamp!
zonus
41 posts
 
i agree try a preamp. the cal is an excellent cd player...certainly not a weak link. try to decide what you think you are missing before you start over. as the quality gets better the improvements become minimal at real dollars.
geoffgarcia OP
92 posts
 
well lots of great advice and a lot to think about!
Since I have the money at this time I believe I'll push for a preamp, probably a Rogue 99 or Audible Illusion M3a.
Then I'll take a drive down to my local hifi store and pickup a set of speakers from my list and set them up and make a decision which gives more bang for the buck.

But dont get me wrong, I could hear a difference between the rogue and the receiver....it was just subtle not in your face obvious like with the speaker change. The CD Player was also noticeable...but not sure if it was worth the difference that I noticed...
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,138 posts
 
I agree that what you are probably looking at is system mismatch based on lack of an active pre-amp. The CAL CDPs of that group (CL-10, CL-15, CL-20 - OK thats a DVD-) are all pretty good. I would definately try out an AI, the Rouge, and maybe a BAT VK3i which is suppossed to be easier on tubes than the AI. DO NOT make the mistake of going to a very high end, revealing transducer (speaker) driven by mediocre electronics. Besides the fact that the receiver may not even be able to drive some of the speakers you mentioned, they will show every wart and blemish in the system upstream. IMO, really good electronics driving fair to good speakers will usually sound better than fair electronics driving really good speakers.
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