What next?

BassFreak101

I am wondering what your opinion is on what I should upgrade first in my system.
You can see what i have in my setup right now in my signature.
I really could use the advice.

Thanks, Jace

BassFreak101

I am mainly focusing on my two channel setup.

cfrizz

I would say new speakers then a new receiver.

How much do you want to spend? New or used gear?

BassFreak101

Probably used gear, the JBls sound Fantastic , but one of the tweeters recently went bad, so I would have to get a new tweeter. But I might be better off getting a new(used) pair of speakers.

BassFreak101

I would be willing to spend up to $300, I know its not a lot but I can probably get something pretty decent used with $300.

joecoulson

What’s your fav source media?

BassFreak101

Digital and vinyl

joecoulson

Then I would do either a cartridge upgrade or a DAC

tonyb

Fill me in on the gear, as I can't see sigs.

halo

Slightly above your price point:

Crutchfield has the Signature S55 speakers on sale. Scratch and dent are only $219 each. https://crutchfield.com/p_107SIGS55W/Polk-Audio-Signature-S55-Walnut.html?cc=07&tp=185

BassFreak101

I currently am using:
Jbl lx44
Optonica sa 5105
12 gauge bluejean cable
Audioquest evergreen 3.5mm to rca cable
Technics BD22 TT

This is what I use in my 2 channel setup.

But as I said before one of the tweeters is bad in the jbls and needs to be
replaced. I just don't know if I should get new speakers or get a new tweeter
for the Jbls.
With the best sound possible in mind.

BassFreak101

I have seen the Polk signatures, but I don't know if they will sound better then the Jbls , but I never know.

tonyb

First question then, is do you like the sound of the JBL's ?

2nd....what if anything don't you like about the sound your getting ?

marvda1

what I would do is pull out all of the excess equipment and start with just source, amplification/preamp, speakers. listen to this setup to see how it sounds. you have so much extra stuff that I don't know what you are trying to do.


2 Channel:
Jbl Lx44
Optonica Sa 5105
Blue Jean 12 gauge cable
Audioquest evergreen 3.5mm to rca cable
Technics Sl BD22 TT
Randomness:
Klh model 26's
Peavey Pr15's
Gls cables for peaveys
Numark DM1175 Preamp mixer
Random cables
Bic f12
Svs soundpath subwoofer cable
Lafayette Lr-200a amplifier

BassFreak101

Yes I love the sound of the JBls, I am just wondering what I should invest in/upgrade .
Currently I am not using an external preamp, should this be something I should invest in? Or maybe a DAC?

mlistens03

BassFreak101 wrote: »

Yes I love the sound of the JBls, I am just wondering what I should invest in/upgrade .
Currently I am not using an external preamp, should this be something I should invest in? Or maybe a DAC?

Separates are always good, but I think that I would go for a new cartridge first. What kind of cartridge is on the TT?
Also, for you guys here on the forum, I live down the road from Jace, and his JBL’s, although they don’t look (and weren’t priced) like much, are something special. So IMO, I’d stick with those.
After you do the cart, then I’d say DAC, and then I’d move to separates.

BassFreak101

I think they were priced at $300 a piece back in 1989, which is about a $1200 dollars today so a reasonably priced speaker.

BassFreak101

$1200 a pair just to clarify that , not $1200 a piece

tonyb

BassFreak101 wrote: »

Yes I love the sound of the JBls, I am just wondering what I should invest in/upgrade .
Currently I am not using an external preamp, should this be something I should invest in? Or maybe a DAC?

Yep, both actually.

mhardy6647

I think the question for the OP is where to start?

Truth be told, I don't have any profoundly insightful advice.
Were it me, I'd change everything -- but it ain't me, and the constraints of budget and practicality are pretty profound.

I -- guess -- dollar for dollar, I'd actually suggest investing in a good integrated amplifier, if the OP has a pair of speakers he really likes (or even if he doesn't!).

An integrated amp and a pair of loudspeakers (and, of course, a source -- but that can be a phone, man, nowadays!) gets one goin'. Maximum impact per buck spent, if the bucks are spent prudently, I'd opine.

That was (FWIW) pretty much where I started in "modern" hifi as a (poor) college student in the mid 1970s. I shopped around quite a bit and - I believe - chose wisely within the constraints of my budget. I still have that amplifier (used it regularly for over three decades) and still think it sounds -- and looks -- good


Dollar for dollar, that amp (Yamaha CA-610II) and the speakers I ultimately bought to go with it (Polk Audio Monitor Series model 7A) probably have given me the most musical joy of any of the hifi junk I've accumulated over the decades

Not sure if this helps the OP any -- but I enjoyed writin' it!

BassFreak101

Ok thanks, for the feedback, I am going to start looking around for a good used integrated. Any suggestions? My budget is about $300.

joecoulson

Used NAD or Adcom from 80-90’s on CL

mhardy6647

NAD stuff has (had) some reputation for iffy reliability (which, I think, is largely in their past now) but has always - IMO - sounded good and offered good value (and, often, very nice cosmetics).

Were there Adcom integrated amps? Not sure I ever ran across one (i.e., I cannot remember any... but that ain't saying much!).

BassFreak101

Ok I have heard good things about NAD and Adcom stuff, ill be looking.

mhardy6647

So let's look at the loudspeakers "in play" here.
I am not at all familiar with them, so I looked 'em up. www.hifiengine.com has the manual, which has the specs... and the "technical manual" which includes the XO schematic!





source: http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?20132-My-first-refoamed-JBL-LX44-pics-inside

As an aside: I note that these have woofers using foam surrounds. Do you (the OP, that is) know if yours have had the woofers refoamed? If not, are the surrounds intact?

The nominal impedance of 8 ohms and the nominal sensitivity of 91 dB SPL at 1 meter for an input signal of 2.83 VAC (which is 1 watt into 8 ohms) suggest these are probably pretty easy to drive. I would think that a good quality amplifier of, say, 30 watts per channel or more should make 'em sound as good as they're capable of sounding. Just a semi-informed opinion, of course, with zero ears-on experience; YMMV, of course!

I haven't found a thorough test of them, unfortunately, so I have no idea what their impedance curve looks like -- but I'd assume it's benign

EDIT: Y'all can see what this person is or was usin' with a pair of LX44s

https://www.stereophile.com/content/switched-nad1240-preamp-bryston-4b-and-my-system-took-turn-worse

halo

I owned a newer version of those speakers right before I bought my first pair of Polk speakers. As you can see, I still own Polk speakers but I don't own JBL speakers which is, of course, my preference.

I had the G300 that I purchased new in '95 or '96 and I kept them until '04.

These are not my speakers (image borrowed from the web) but this is what they look like:


I would also recommend looking into a NAD integrated amp or a set of Rotel separates. I had the Rotel RC-972 pre amp paired with the RB-980BX power amp for very little money invested and they worked well as an entry point.

joecoulson

What city are you in?

BassFreak101

I am in Deltona,FL, I refoamed the woofers myself. I got a pretty good deal on them, got them for only $10. At a garage sale. Also I would research the Optonica because its actually a pretty good piece.

joecoulson

https://orlando.craigslist.org/ele/d/adcom-gta-450-stereo/6656330910.html
https://orlando.craigslist.org/ele/d/adcom-gfa-535-stereo-power/6656327811.html

Little drive for you. But worth it IMO

BassFreak101

Those are pretty good deals, ill research them.

joecoulson

They won’t last long
Jump on them should you like what you read.
But definitely try and have him set them up for you to listen to make sure caps are still good. That is if you are comfortable with that.