Lost - Your combined experience required


Over the past while, off and on, i've been thinking about upgrading my gear, wanting more open, airy and extended sound. I want to lose the slight veil currently existing in my setup that just takes away from the believability of the presentation. I'd like more dimension as well.

I've made threads about possible amp upgrades, speakers, source...all separate threads (over a period of time). But i've never made a thread asking your opinions on what you feel the weak link actually IS, in my case.

Gear:
CD - Rotel RCD 971/ Sony PS1 model 1001 (on its way)
Sugden a48b w/ upgrades including point to point wiring
Rega Ara speakers
Target sand filled metal stands
cheapo monster cable (i also have some ecosse cable, but that makes the system sound very flat, albeit somewhat more extended in the higher frequencies).

Room is small, one bedroom condo living room, open to kitchen. Living room area is approx 14 x 10 or so (maybe a bit longer)

The system is on the better-sounding long wall of the room (not the dividing wall). I have fussed around w/ speaker placement to no end, finding strengths and compromises in a variety of positions, but with no fully satisfying results.

I came to a quick conclusion that my speakers are the weak link here, but now i'm not so sure. After reading about the Ara's and how others describe them, it sounds like I may be wrong.

On a hunch, i started reading up more on that particular sugden model and I've come to realize that it's generally not considered the most transparent in the world. It IS a good amp, mind you - quality performance. But perhaps just a little too antiquated for the sound i'm looking for.

I'm not too concerned about the source at the moment, since I'll soon have two players to swap in and out.

But I'm really lost in terms of whether i should swap speakers or amp (or both!). I'm on a budget and I don't really want to fuss around and risk poor matching etc etc...

With all your combined experience, I'm bound to glean some sort of insight from some of you. Hopefully. Thoughts? Please? ha
loose
I have installed an energy esw v8 into the system (which i don't normally use for two channel audio). I have it dialed in perfectly to round out the bottom.

No doubt, it adds some dimension to the music; it, however, doesn't solve my problem of 'lack of air'.

Wow Bob_reynolds. You sound so definite, but the poster should not ignore the other advice here. Cable changes in my system (5 1/4" woofers!) cured me of wanting a sub.

With some cable combinations, I didn't want to listen to music. With other combinations it sounded wonderful.

You are certainly correct about the room and speaker position effect, but it would not be correct to dismiss all good amps as sounding the same as you have indicated.
Loose,

Interestingly and not surprisingly, the advice so far is all over the map. I am usually a source-first guy, but thinking in this case your older amp may be the greatest factor. New budget CD players from Cambridge, Music Hall and NAD are getting much better, and the suggestions to demo other gear and cables if you can is helpful. While thinking about wires don't ignore the possibility of trying aftermarket power cables if your gear have detachable power cords. Again, you don't have to spend bundle to hear real benefits from a thicker gauge and well designed and constructed cable, shielded for CDP and unshielded for an amp.

While you are trying to sort these larger things out, here is a cheap trick you can try that wont cost an arm and a leg, and I have found opens up the sound of my system and brings out the highs and details - especially when applied to my CD player.

Buy a length of hardwood - say a 2" X 2" oak replacement leg for a coffee table, $8 or less. Cut it into a series of perfectly flat 2x2 chunks in groups of three or four of the same height that can be used to raise your CDP or amp about 1/8" above their stock feet. Experiment on suspending your amp and CDP on a set of these on your rack. I would start with three, one under the transformer and two others placed to complete a stable triangular base.

The dense wood will serve to transfer vibration from your gear to the rack more efficiently than stock feet that usually have rubber pads that isolate and trap internal vibration in your gear. If your rack is made of a material that can absorb and dissipate the vibration from your gear while also effectively isolating it from vibration in the room, you will likely experience the greatest benefits from this trick. This accomplishes some of the same benefits as brass cones and other isolation devices at a fraction of the cost.

If your rack system is suspect in either respect you can place a heavy block of wood, like a maple chopping block, directly under your gear and the small wooden blocks to carry out some of the same functions described above for your rack.

Other relatively cheap tricks include using a contact cleaner and silver treatment on the connectors for your speaker and interconnect cables.

Moving up the tweak list a bit, many people including me find that replacing stock fuses in electronic gear with silver fuses has a positive impact on sound quality.

The above tricks can be accomplished for relatively small investments in time and money, and while usually not offering the same level of benefits as wire and gear changes, will nevertheless push your system in direction of the "more open, airy and extended sound" you seek.
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Loose,

FYI, I have a Cambridge 640C v2 CDP and it works very well. It is "alive" and detailed sounding with solid bass, good instrument placement, but not the widest sound stage ever. I am running it with an older modified AMC amp and custom built large bookshelf speakers. It should pair well with your amp and speakers. I am using a Shunyata Diamondback power cord with it and currently using Radio Shack Fusion interconnects because believe it or not they sound more coherent to me in this application than the AQ Sidewinder and Diamondback, Monster Cable or XLO wires I also have on hand.

If interested, you should be able to pick up one of these for about $300 used - although look for the "version 2" as I have owned both and the second generation is noticeably better. I listened to my version 2 player with Sim Audio Moon i7 integrated, Dynaudio Contour S1.4, and about $3000 worth of Shunyata wires when I was testing power cords, and I was surprised how good it sounded in that company - significant upside to this little player.

The Cambridge 740C is a minor step up in my experience, but the 840C with a good power cord and played through balanced interconnects is a smoother and more analog sounding rig.