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New amp or new cd player?

With which will i see a bigger improvement in my sound. I have a Mcintosh MA6450 integrated, Gallo 3.1 speakers, and an onkyo dv-sp404 dvd/cd player. Monster interconnects, and transparent music wave speaker cable.

Obviously my weakest link is the onkyo dvd player as a cd player. I was thinking about upgrading it to a naim cd 5i or classe cdp-102. However, I also know that my amp could be more powerful as it is 100wpc into 4ohms, but only 50/75? wpc in to my 8ohm gallo 3.1's.

My question is.. with which change will i see a greater improvemt? In my currently living sitatuon, the mcintosh easily powers my speakers louder than i can play them for an extended amount of time, but will more power equate to more bass? I was thinking about the Classe cap-2100, but will this result in more bass, and better imaging/soundstage/etc, or simply the ability to play louder, which i dont really need.

As for the cd player, I have a hard time believing a cd player can make THAT big of a difference (I am new to this high end audio stuff), although I know they must because all I have read on here and other places around the internet. Although I have also read that a decent cdp used as a transport, and a dac such as the bel canto dac 2, sound nearly as good as some of the very good cd players out there.

So.. long story short.. would i see a bigger improvement if i keep the onkyo as my cdp, and upgrade the amp, or if i keep the mac 6450 and upgrade the cdp?

James
farjamed
mlauner
250 posts
 
Source first, you cannot get better sound downstream without quality upstream. Naim cd5 is a good choice.
magnumpi205
504 posts
 
The more threads I read, the more I realize that CD player's transports a dying way ahead of their time.
I would buy a really good DAC and play the Onkyo until it dies and replace. That way you still have a great Dac and don't end up with an expensive player as a boat anchor.
Your amp and speakers are both solid.
It' very simple, garbage-in garbage out.
farjamed OP
33 posts
 
thanks for all the responses.

Blindjim: Interconnects is probably the thing I am most skeptical about. How much do i need to spend to get a good pair of interconnects? I just bought the monsters as a starting point because i didnt want to have to spend 500 dollars or more for interconnects, especially with the onkyo cdp.

Mlauner/Markwatkiss: So a new high end cd player would produce a very obvious and dramatic improvement?

Magnumpi: A good DAC used with my onkyo cdp should produce an obvious improvement?

I guess my overall question to everyone, is how much improvement are we talking about? Is it worth 1500$ on a dac, or 2K on a cdp, or whatever I decide to spend. I know this is a personal decision, as far as whether the difference is worth it, but I mean, in relative terms, how much difference are we talking?

Thanks again
James
markwatkiss
508 posts
 
Yes a top tier front end will yield dramatic improvements.Feel free to send me a pm and I'll provide some specific recommendations.
jylee
306 posts
 
I agree with the general sentiment. It's garbage in / garbage out, and you want the source to produce the best possible sound.

But when you consider your budget, and if you want to stretch $1500 as much as you can, there could be better ways to spend the money than buying a $1500 CDP. For example you can allocate $500 for a budget entry level CDP with good modern DAC, and upgrade your $1500 amp to $2500 amp.

In my previous experience, I've heard more variety in sound of amps under $3000 than CDP under $1500. Amps in $2000-$3000 range tend to differ in sound from one another. Modern CDP under $1500 tend to sound more similar than different. Notable exceptions are exotic DACs (NOS, tubed), or older generation (early 2000's or older) models.

IMHO the balance among the components is just as important, and you don't want to over-invest in one component.
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