Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

epyon415 said:
So I’ve been thinking of upgrades for the year and would like some input on my current setup (see sig). I’d mainly like to explore some different carts, particularly moving coil with Hana, Dynavector, Grado, and Audiotechnica on the short list. I prefer a more musical sound profile especially female vocals and midrange focus. I’ve also heard the grado black2 and black2 w/8mz stylus (still have the stylus) and prefer the sound profile I’m hearing from my current cart.

Are my phono and amp in need of replacing before I look at new carts?

One other note, my listening space is roughly 10x10 and I rarely have my amp over 42db on its volume settings, which feels ample loud with the mastertracker.
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Consider a SoundSmith.
 
Mather said:
Okay so. This is likely the AVR (Arcam AVR20) I'm going with for the theatre system. On a scale of "Beautiful" to "five car pile-up on the i-90" where do we think the look of this thing ranks. Personally, I think I'm at like, 3 car fender bender with minor injuries... Thoughts?
View attachment 125013
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That looks cool except all of the bloody advertisements bellow the buttons. It’s like the 90’s all over again
 
LiamGallagher’sBucketHat said:
That looks cool except all of the bloody advertisements bellow the buttons. It’s like the 90’s all over again
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I would assume those are a removable sticker.

Side note, people who don't remove those stickers are total psychopaths. I will literally remove those things if I see them on friends tv's or receivers. I will also turn off motion smoothing if I ever find it on at anyone's house. Set me loose in a Best Buy and I will have a fucking field day with that shit.
 
LiamGallagher’sBucketHat said:
That looks cool except all of the bloody advertisements bellow the buttons. It’s like the 90’s all over again
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Okay it looks like they actually aren't a removable sticker. Which vexes me. However they aren't nearly as noticeable in normal conditions... BUT STILL... Thank you @LiamGallagher’sBucketHat for drawing my attention to thing I do not like that I will now never un-see.
IMG_0150.jpeg
 
Kris said:
I'm moving my floor standers from a carpeted floor to a vinyl floor, so now I can't use the carpet spikes. Should I just take them off, or get some of those metal feet that go under the floor standers? Seems like there are some inexpensive options, but I don't want to eff up my new floor! I saw $400 ones, but that is going to be a no from me.
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Herbies has good products. I have these on my Salks on a tile floor.

herbiesaudiolab.com

Threaded Stud Glider

Nifty glider replaces threaded spikes or cones for loudspeaker or rack isolation and mobility with superb lateral stability. (With an efficient decoupling approach, spikes are not really needed at all.) Fiberglass reinforced dBNeutralizer-filled vinyl base with smooth polymer bottom handles...
herbiesaudiolab.com herbiesaudiolab.com
 
Thanks all for your suggestions. I was looking for something $20 total lol...I mean its sort of just washer of sorts. I should know that won't work with audio equipment.

I’m going to try these, see if they work ok. If not, it’s an easy return and I’ll spring for the more expensive ones.

Set of 8 Satin Silver Hi-Fi Spike Shoes Isolation Pads by Soundbass Amazon product ASIN B078RTGVJF
 
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LiamGallagher’sBucketHat said:
I was thinking about getting the Zu Hi-Fi rubber footers but I don’t really want to drop $100. Any suggestions? I’m growing tired of the bamboo boards under my DWs.
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A lot of people like the Isoacoustics. Again, not cheap.
upscaleaudio.com

IsoAcoustics Gaia III Speaker Isolation Feet

IsoAcoustics Gaia III, 4 per box “Installing the GAIA isolators on my KEF Blades gave the biggest improvement in sound I have ever heard on the system. Better than changing cables or electronics, the noise floor was lower, the focus was better, and the bass went deeper. All around a total...
upscaleaudio.com upscaleaudio.com

Herbies Audio Lab has a lot of things ps@Kris sorry i could not get you this link earlier, been a busy day
herbiesaudiolab.com

Loudspeaker/Rack Decoupling and Isolation

Herbie's Audio Lab is proud to provide a complete lineup of state-of-the-art loudspeaker and audio rack isolation products. This lineup represents unprecedented value; only the finest materials are used and all products are manufactured and/or assembled in-house. By experimenting outside the...
herbiesaudiolab.com herbiesaudiolab.com
 
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Mather said:
Okay it looks like they actually aren't a removable sticker. Which vexes me. However they aren't nearly as noticeable in normal conditions... BUT STILL... Thank you @LiamGallagher’sBucketHat for drawing my attention to thing I do not like that I will now never un-see.
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The logos on Arcam front panels used to be silk-screen printed over anodized aluminium, should be easy enough to remove if you wanted.
 
Just saw IKEA now makes speaker stands for the Symfonisk. Wish they had these last year when I was looking! Sonos for a wireless surround sound setup is now way more affordable.

www.ikea.com

SYMFONISK bookshelf speaker floor stand, white - IKEA

SYMFONISK bookshelf speaker floor stand, white This floor stand allows you to place SYMFONISK bookshelf speaker wherever you like. Aim the speaker where you like and fill the room with sound. Perfect for rear speakers in a home theater system.
www.ikea.com www.ikea.com
 
Joe Mac said:
The pho 8 can do moving coil cartridges but only ones with an impedance of 100 ohms. There is no adjustable MC impedance on it.

Two things, one I don’t know how quiet a phono stage that costs roughly 300 would be with the extra gain being used for an MC cart and two that restricts you when choosing MC carts.

If you don’t want to upgrade the phono you’d maybe looking at something like the AT OC9X-ML. If you really wanted a Hana the one that works at that impedance is the ML.

As for MC cartridges in general I really like the Hana SL. It really is great. It doesn’t sound harsh on worse pressings at all, and it pulls oodles of details without ever feeling fatiguing to listen to.
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I love the ART-9, but yes, if you plan to dabble in MC with more than one in mind you need to get a phono with more options.
 
I’m looking for some thoughts on a new amplifier. I currently have a Yamaha A-S501 powering KEF LS50 Metas and a Dayton Audio subwoofer (also needs an upgrade).

I’m considering the Cambridge Audio CXA81 and the Marantz PM7000N. I have some concerns about each:
  • CXA81 has no tone control. My ears don’t pick up the higher frequencies so well, so I usually need to sweeten the treble, and the fact that there is no way to do this on the CXA81 is giving me pause.
  • PM7000N is only a 60W into 8 ohms amp. My current amp and the CXA81 are both 85W, and I’ve heard the KEFs need decent wattage to drive. Even though the speakers are rated down to 45W, 60W is near the floor.
Is 60W too low? Is the lack of tone control on the CXA81 not that big a deal since it’s a higher quality amp?
 
MacDonals said:
I’m looking for some thoughts on a new amplifier. I currently have a Yamaha A-S501 powering KEF LS50 Metas and a Dayton Audio subwoofer (also needs an upgrade).

I’m considering the Cambridge Audio CXA81 and the Marantz PM7000N. I have some concerns about each:
  • CXA81 has no tone control. My ears don’t pick up the higher frequencies so well, so I usually need to sweeten the treble, and the fact that there is no way to do this on the CXA81 is giving me pause.
  • PM7000N is only a 60W into 8 ohms amp. My current amp and the CXA81 are both 85W, and I’ve heard the KEFs need decent wattage to drive. Even though the speakers are rated down to 45W, 60W is near the floor.
Is 60W too low? Is the lack of tone control on the CXA81 not that big a deal since it’s a higher quality amp?
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"We suggest the Cambridge CXA81 integrated with a suitably capable source, though such are the LS50 Meta’s capabilities that you could easily use the likes of the Naim SuperNait 3, and the speakers wouldn’t be limiting." - What Hi-Fi?
 
Thanks @Hollywood, I'm familiar with their recommendation but the fact that they removed tone control from the model makes me nervous and the Naim is out of my price range.

From the research I've been doing, 60W @ 8 ohm should not limit me, especially in a 12' x 15' room, but I'm still researching.
 
Hollywood said:
@MacDonals

KEF LS50 Meta Amp Pairing – A Hifi Enthusiast

www.paarc.org www.paarc.org
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Thank you for this. I also noticed that in the Marantz P7000N pairing, he states,
”KEF LS50 Meta is probably the perfect speaker to pair with Marantz PM7000N if you want studio-grade sound quality for your home audio system. Both the speaker and the amplifier will deliver to you a faithful presentation of all your music, how the artists intended them to sound to all their audiences. Every single musical note will be audible, and you may even hear new things.”
 
MacDonals said:
I’m looking for some thoughts on a new amplifier. I currently have a Yamaha A-S501 powering KEF LS50 Metas and a Dayton Audio subwoofer (also needs an upgrade).

I’m considering the Cambridge Audio CXA81 and the Marantz PM7000N. I have some concerns about each:
  • CXA81 has no tone control. My ears don’t pick up the higher frequencies so well, so I usually need to sweeten the treble, and the fact that there is no way to do this on the CXA81 is giving me pause.
  • PM7000N is only a 60W into 8 ohms amp. My current amp and the CXA81 are both 85W, and I’ve heard the KEFs need decent wattage to drive. Even though the speakers are rated down to 45W, 60W is near the floor.
Is 60W too low? Is the lack of tone control on the CXA81 not that big a deal since it’s a higher quality amp?
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Regarding the Cambridge amp, based on this past quote and the followup comments to it I would be concerned about build quality
HiFi Guy said:
This. Cambridge builds much of their gear with bargain basement parts. Someone here (I can’t recall who) just gave up on Cambridge after 2 repairs within 2 years.

I had a CA phono stage that was ruined when every single power supply capacitor leaked within a year.
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MacDonals said:
I’m looking for some thoughts on a new amplifier. I currently have a Yamaha A-S501 powering KEF LS50 Metas and a Dayton Audio subwoofer (also needs an upgrade).

I’m considering the Cambridge Audio CXA81 and the Marantz PM7000N. I have some concerns about each:
  • CXA81 has no tone control. My ears don’t pick up the higher frequencies so well, so I usually need to sweeten the treble, and the fact that there is no way to do this on the CXA81 is giving me pause.
  • PM7000N is only a 60W into 8 ohms amp. My current amp and the CXA81 are both 85W, and I’ve heard the KEFs need decent wattage to drive. Even though the speakers are rated down to 45W, 60W is near the floor.
Is 60W too low? Is the lack of tone control on the CXA81 not that big a deal since it’s a higher quality amp?
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If you are going to upgrade, then upgrade. I see a side step (Marantz) or downgrade (Cambridge).
 
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