I'm in a tail spin

ratster

I'm looking to improve somewhere just not sure where. I was kicking around the idea of a new amp than talked myself out of that idea.

Than I got on the tube preamp kick and pretty much talked myself out of it also. I guess I was worried that if I didn't like the sound it would be money wasted. So I decided to dip into tubes the easy way and I bought Pearsal001's tube buffer and am enjoying what it has done to my music. It has done two things noticeably well,it opened up the sound stage and it has taken some of the edge off from the SS sound.

Now here's where I go into a tailspin. There was a thread about a cheap CD player recommendations(Mr Smith I think). He has the same CDP listed in his sig as me so I was curious as to what people's suggestions would be. Seems like the general consensus was a Dac with a few Jolida JD100a suggestions thrown in.

If I go with the Jolida I can take the buffer out and hopefully have that nice tube sound and more detail in my music.

Honestly reading the specs on Dacs is like speaking to me in Chinese. I don't have a clue:sad: so I go off from reviewsand suggestions. This is where your expertise comes in.

Their is a W4S Dac1 on Agon with updated caps for $800. Supposedly the same caps as in the Dac2. If I understood correctly what I have read I could connect this to my CDP and also another piece of gear. Maybe a music streamer?

So give me your thoughts and opinions. Go with a Dac or new CDP? W4S or something else? Jolida or something else?

Jetmaker737

I don't think anything SS is going to float your boat. Try the Jolida.

ratster

The 105 was something that I have considered even though I'm not really into watching blurays or sacd.

Cables: MIT Exp1 between amp and pre. Signal analog 2 for Ic's and Clear Day Double shotgun for speakers.

Let's say budget is no more than $1500.00

Starter amp was kind of my impression also.

ratster

DSkip wrote: »

Doug's cables are an upgrade over the Exp1 for sure. What about power cables?

Signal and Pangea.

B Run

Check out the Peachtree Nova Pre, nice dac and preamp with class A tube output. Really detailed and warm sounding with a great dac. Just a thought, i've been really happy with their products.

http://www.peachtreeaudio.com/novapre-preamplifier-with-dac.html

B Run

Hmm was it the Nova Pre? I started with the Nova and just upgraded to the iNova, which is surprisingly a huge upgrade in sound quality. I was happy with the Nova, Headrott hooked me up with an Amperex 7308 to swap out the 6922eh. The iNova has way more detail and air and added a noticeable depth to the soundstage, and that's with the stock 6n1p still in it which will be pulled out pretty soon. I think the biggest upgrade was the DAC chip and the upgraded caps. The Nova Pre is supposed to be quite a bit better as well. I've still never ran a true tube setup so it could easily be that I just don't know what i'm missing, but right now i'm really happy with where the sound is at. Keep in mind i'm running 97db efficient 12 ohm speakers so it might not have the same result with a more difficult load, just throwing it out there.

ratster

I haven't played with Dynamat at all. I do have my CDP on Mapleshades brass footers and Maple platform. That little tweek did make a nice difference.

I will check out Doug's pc's. I was also thinking about trying out a Shunyata.

I'm still happy with my CDP so I guess I will think some more about a Dac. So I'm open for suggestions on a amp and dac.

W4S amps any account? Would Parasound be a step up?

F1nut

What do you feel is not right with the sound?

ratster

F1nut wrote: »

What do you feel is not right with the sound?

I don't think their is really anything "not right" I'm just looking to improve. I want more clarity,detail,imaging etc...

ratster

DSkip wrote: »

Gotten your ears on any new speakers lately? I've refrained until now, but you might look there too. As nice as they are, eventually you're going to outgrow those as well if you keep progressing in this hobby.

No I haven't. Our selection of speakers locally is pretty much limited to Best Buy.

F1nut

Ok, here's my 2 cents. In order, upgrade the woofers and crossovers in your speakers (you'll be amazed at the improvement), install a dedicated 20 amp line or two (you'll be amazed at that improvement), get a new tube CDP (getting rid of the buffer and extra connections) and make all the cables the same brand, whatever choice that may be. At that point, I suspect you'll find those amps are the weak link.

Dawgfish

^^+1, what he said!^^

ratster

Thank you F1nut.


Amp suggestions.?

erniejade

I know everyone has an opinion and there is no wrong or right answer on anyone's opinion. A lot of this is trial and error and as crazy as it sounds, that is also a lot of the fun for many of us. I have had suggestions from a lot of people on the board. Some were right on, some wasn't what I was looking for but, never regretted trying any of it. To me, that is the fun part, trying different things. That is another reason why a lot of us try to buy used and why a lot of us sell for better deals on this board, to help keep it going and make it more affordable to keep trying different things, buying and selling for basically what you paid for something - shipping. Its fun.

Unfortunately one of the things you want to try out would have to be new right now, the oppo. Anything else is definitely worth the risk of trying out if you buy it at a decent price so you can resell what you paid for it.

Here is my story: I had a jolida cd player and I loved the sound of it after I changed the tubes , dynamat, and put a better power cord on it. I wanted to get more into sacd, and digital. I sold the jolida, got a good sounding pioneer elite d9 for sacd, and a W4S dac2. I originally got the dac2 because I was going to use it as a preamp and sell my McIntosh preamp, but I was missing some of the sound of the jolida so I thought it must be the tube sound I am missing. Sold my McIntosh preamp and I got a AR SP16 preamp and after trying a few sets of tubes in it, much better but, still something I thought was missing!

On redbook the w4s using the pioneer as a transport sounded fantastic, actually better then sacd! That started me on a journey to find a tube sacd player so I can have the tube sound of the jolida back for sacd . Found a Cayin tube sacd, Matched it up with some early 60's tubes and I now have the nice tube sound of the jolida on sacd, and the great sounding w4s dac for redbook, flac, and high rez.

This was a long $ journey to try to better the sound of the jolida, and keep that sound with sacd and digital files!

Would I do it again the same way? Im not sure but, it was fun trying out different things in my system! The jolida has a sound that Newrival said best, like a warm and fuzzy blanket vs some more analytical or more accurate. We had a fun test at his house actually with a few cd players and that was a fun night. I preferred the Jolida and he preferred the Musical Fidelity for different reasons. It depends on what sound you are looking for. Are you looking to get into digital files or stick with CD? LP?

Sorry for the long post. There is no wrong or right answers. It depends on what you are looking for and what you want to spend. Every suggestion made here is a good one. It all depends on what route you want to take. If your not going to get into digital files and cd is your main source for music, to me a used jolida + better tubes and sell the buffer would be step 1. If your going to get into digital files, then I would take the opportunity to look into something else that would give you the sound you want and handle the digital files as well as a dac for your cd player. So, it all depends on what you want to do and what do you see in the near future as your music source will be.

steveinaz

In MY opinion, you'd need to up your game in the DAC department if you wish to significantly out-do that Rotel. The 1072 is no slouch. Seems to me an $800 DAC would be a move sideways.

nwohlford

I would vote for new speakers. The LSi series are nice, but for $1500 on the used market, you can do a fair amount better. I know auditioning speakers is a pain, but the gain will be well worth it.

How are you using the two gfa-555s? I assume either bi-amping or bridged, but I would stay away from bridging with the LSis.

F1nut

ratster wrote: »

Thank you F1nut.


Amp suggestions.?

Last on my list, so no suggestions right now.

TroyD

I'm with F1.....Looking at the gear lineup, all are very solid pieces.

BDT

steveinaz

If something is "bugging" you about your system, and you can't quite put your finger on it

---

>SPEAKERS.

SCompRacer

ratster wrote: »

I don't think their is really anything "not right" I'm just looking to improve. I want more clarity,detail,imaging etc...

You have nice gear so I'll play the room acoustic treatment card. You won't believe the difference it makes. If you do choose to chase other gear you are in a better position to hear the differences with a treated room. All the audio buzz words including the ones you mentioned come into play.

GIK is my fav but there are others such as ATS, RealTraps, diy, etc. You can customize with fabric colors, even artsy images so they both function and look good.

An old thread started by someone who was here and joined me.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?86154-Room-Treatment-Revelations

ratster

erniejade wrote: »

I know everyone has an opinion and there is no wrong or right answer on anyone's opinion. A lot of this is trial and error and as crazy as it sounds, that is also a lot of the fun for many of us. I have had suggestions from a lot of people on the board. Some were right on, some wasn't what I was looking for but, never regretted trying any of it. To me, that is the fun part, trying different things. That is another reason why a lot of us try to buy used and why a lot of us sell for better deals on this board, to help keep it going and make it more affordable to keep trying different things, buying and selling for basically what you paid for something - shipping. Its fun.

Unfortunately one of the things you want to try out would have to be new right now, the oppo. Anything else is definitely worth the risk of trying out if you buy it at a decent price so you can resell what you paid for it.

Here is my story: I had a jolida cd player and I loved the sound of it after I changed the tubes , dynamat, and put a better power cord on it. I wanted to get more into sacd, and digital. I sold the jolida, got a good sounding pioneer elite d9 for sacd, and a W4S dac2. I originally got the dac2 because I was going to use it as a preamp and sell my McIntosh preamp, but I was missing some of the sound of the jolida so I thought it must be the tube sound I am missing. Sold my McIntosh preamp and I got a AR SP16 preamp and after trying a few sets of tubes in it, much better but, still something I thought was missing!

On redbook the w4s using the pioneer as a transport sounded fantastic, actually better then sacd! That started me on a journey to find a tube sacd player so I can have the tube sound of the jolida back for sacd . Found a Cayin tube sacd, Matched it up with some early 60's tubes and I now have the nice tube sound of the jolida on sacd, and the great sounding w4s dac for redbook, flac, and high rez.

This was a long $ journey to try to better the sound of the jolida, and keep that sound with sacd and digital files!

Would I do it again the same way? Im not sure but, it was fun trying out different things in my system! The jolida has a sound that Newrival said best, like a warm and fuzzy blanket vs some more analytical or more accurate. We had a fun test at his house actually with a few cd players and that was a fun night. I preferred the Jolida and he preferred the Musical Fidelity for different reasons. It depends on what sound you are looking for. Are you looking to get into digital files or stick with CD? LP?

Sorry for the long post. There is no wrong or right answers. It depends on what you are looking for and what you want to spend. Every suggestion made here is a good one. It all depends on what route you want to take. If your not going to get into digital files and cd is your main source for music, to me a used jolida + better tubes and sell the buffer would be step 1. If your going to get into digital files, then I would take the opportunity to look into something else that would give you the sound you want and handle the digital files as well as a dac for your cd player. So, it all depends on what you want to do and what do you see in the near future as your music source will be.

Than you. I asked for opinions and yours is valid.

steveinaz wrote: »

In MY opinion, you'd need to up your game in the DAC department if you wish to significantly out-do that Rotel. The 1072 is no slouch. Seems to me an $800 DAC would be a move sideways.

I guess I'm looking at it from the technology has advanced point of view.

nwohlford wrote: »

I would vote for new speakers. The LSi series are nice, but for $1500 on the used market, you can do a fair amount better. I know auditioning speakers is a pain, but the gain will be well worth it.

How are you using the two gfa-555s? I assume either bi-amping or bridged, but I would stay away from bridging with the LSis.

I agree on the speakers.That sig is misleading. I'm only running one the other is in the closet waiting on me to decide what I'm doing.

F1nut wrote: »

Last on my list, so no suggestions right now.

I'll check back with you again. Thanks.

TroyD wrote: »

I'm with F1.....Looking at the gear lineup, all are very solid pieces.
Thank you

BDT

thank you

steveinaz wrote: »

If something is "bugging" you about your system, and you can't quite put your finger on it

---

>SPEAKERS.

That thought has crossed my mind.

DSkip wrote: »

I think the landscape is muddier than when he started this thread...

Not like it would be the first time it's happened here

SCompRacer wrote: »

You have nice gear so I'll play the room acoustic treatment card. You won't believe the difference it makes. If you do choose to chase other gear you are in a better position to hear the differences with a treated room. All the audio buzz words including the ones you mentioned come into play.

GIK is my fav but there are others such as ATS, RealTraps, diy, etc. You can customize with fabric colors, even artsy images so they both function and look good.



An old thread started by someone who was here and joined me.






http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?86154-Room-Treatment-Revelations

Lol. Gik is waiting on the material from Guilford.

ratster

Thanks DSkip. Dynamatting my speakers,CDP and pre were on my "try list" but I figured the heat from the amp would effect it's adhesion.