Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

MikeH said:
I had KEF R300 speakers for awhile. Really liked them. Then I swapped for Denton 80th and really liked those too. The Lintons are the best of all three by far for me though.

I know @HiFi Guy raves about the NAD amps. He’d be the one to ask probably about the fit of the NAD amps with the KEFs you were interested in
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The Linton's would be my top pick, but space and $ makes them less viable till I move.
 
Hemotep said:
I'm working on selling some records to fund some upgrades to my system. I'm currently using some powered speakers that work for my small apartment really well. But I do hope to move one day and would rather set myself up for the future if I'm going to spend the money on an upgrade. Although I haven't completely ruled out just getting some better powered speakers and saving some money till I move. Also I really enjoy listening through headphones quite a lot to get the full immersive experience, and since my wife doesn't care for a lot of my tunes it works out well.

I've been leaning toward the KEF Q350s, but admit a big part of my interest beyond the reviews I've read, over say the Wharfedale Denton 80th, is aesthetic.

For the amp I think I want to go with a NAD. And am looking at the C368 and the C388. Anyone have any of these and can give some advice?

Also I'm more interested in getting a great amp than speakers at the moment which is why I've been considering these.
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Either of these are a good choice. The only caveat is that having the digital stuff built in isn’t my preference. Digital moves so quickly that no matter what you get, it’ll be outdated in a year or two. It’ll be perfectly serviceable for whatever is current now so as long as you know you’ll soon be behind the 8 ball on the digital side - if you don’t care then they are good choices.

If you aren’t opposed to open box or factory refurbished, check out Safe & Sound. You can save a good chunk of cash. That’s where I got my NAD gear.

Between the two- 80 watts per channel is enough power for most people, but if you can go to the upper model with more power, do that. There’s no such thing as too much power.
 
@Hemotep

Looking at the spec sheet on the C388 I see some things I like and some I don’t:

The amplifier section is really good. No surprise.

The digital section is already outdated. Max supported is 24/192. No DSD for high resolution digital.

The phono section is quiet as far as noise- hum or hiss. But you’d need a cartridge with 7.5mV output if you wanted full power output from the amp when using the phono input. Expect to turn the volume up a bit with anything other than an Ortofon 2m or Rega cartridge. If you have an outboard phono stage, this won’t matter.

This mirrors my experience with my NAD gear. The preamp and amp themselves are phenomenal. Among the best I’ve heard regardless of price. But the built in phono stage and headphone amp are nothing to write home about. But I’ve got an outboard phono stage and I rarely use headphones.
 
HiFi Guy said:
@Hemotep

Looking at the spec sheet on the C388 I see some things I like and some I don’t:

The amplifier section is really good. No surprise.

The digital section is already outdated. Max supported is 24/192. No DSD for high resolution digital.

The phono section is quiet as far as noise- hum or hiss. But you’d need a cartridge with 7.5mV output if you wanted full power out from the phono section. Expect to turn the volume up a bit with anything other than an Ortofon 2m or Rega cartridge. If you have an outboard phono stage, this won’t matter.

This mirrors my experience with my NAD gear. The preamp and amp themselves are phenomenal. Among the best I’ve heard regardless of price. But the built in phono stage and headphone amp are nothing to write home about. But I’ve got an outboard phono stage and I rarely use headphones.
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Thanks for filling me in! I don't keep up on the digital side much and am trying to educate myself more on all of this in general. I'm going to keep reading and researching while I sell a few more items to go in the fund. And I'm hoping I'll be able to take a trip down to a hifi shop in Atlanta next month to test a few things. I've been doing a lot of looking on that Safe and Sound site too. Seems like a great place to save some coin!
 
Hemotep said:
Thanks for filling me in! I don't keep up on the digital side much and am trying to educate myself more on all of this in general. I'm going to keep reading and researching while I sell a few more items to go in the fund. And I'm hoping I'll be able to take a trip down to a hifi shop in Atlanta next month to test a few things. I've been doing a lot of looking on that Safe and Sound site too. Seems like a great place to save some coin!
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I agree with the point of keeping the digital stuff outside; the ball moves too fast. I'm also a fan of NAD with a vintage 1600 preamp, a re-capped C272 amp, a C425 tuner and a T572 CD changer. The re-capped amp sounds just as good as my Bryston 4B-ST.

A Schitt or Topping DAC can get you almost state-of-the-art performance for under $200, $250 with Bluetooth. I also agree on the separate phonostage; the one in my 1600 was not particularly noteworthy, but it worked until I could upgrade.

I use KEF LS50's in my office and they are nearly the perfect speaker for me in that limited space. Sound a lot like the upper end of my Thiel CS6's, which also feature a coaxial design. I used the 1600 and C272 amp with my KEFs for a few years until I moved to a Bryston integrated which had much better preamp and phono sections.
 
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@Hemotep will toss a vote for the RP-600M’s. Have been really happy with them, especially for the price. Since you’re looking at small apartment, smaller footprint ideas - I’ve got the Klipsch paired with a Decware Zen Triode, class A tube, puts out just under 3 watts. We’re all biased toward our own setups, but it can be downright heavenly. I believe Guttenberg has run the same chain and had some pretty similar takeaways! The only downside right now is the waiting list and lead time. They’re built to order.
 
HayesWeighsIn said:
@Hemotep will toss a vote for the RP-600M’s. Have been really happy with them, especially for the price. Since you’re looking at small apartment, smaller footprint ideas - I’ve got the Klipsch paired with a Decware Zen Triode, class A tube, puts out just under 3 watts. We’re all biased toward our own setups, but it can be downright heavenly. I believe Guttenberg has run the same chain and had some pretty similar takeaways! The only downside right now is the waiting list and lead time. They’re built to order.
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If you can find one, and do not mind chi-fi The Reisong A-10 (or A-12) Integraded tube amp that Steve liked for a great price might be a good choice for the Klipsch as well. He is also a fan of the 20 watt Schiit Vidar Class A amp.

Schiit Audio: Audio Products Designed and Built in California and Texas

www.schiit.com www.schiit.com
 
For anyone looking for a budget MM/MC phono stage Fremer has given the Schiit Mani 2 a glowing Review. $149usd. Details of the changes in the Mk2 and tests here:
www.analogplanet.com

Schiit's Mani 2 MM/MC Phono Preamp Goes to the Head of the Budget Phono Preamp Class

If the audio industry handed out awards, the winner for “The most improved analog product of the decade” would be Schiit’s Mani 2 MM/MC phono preamplifier. Okay, that’s “click bait” so how about “Schiit’s Mani 2 might be the winner”? Yes, let’s stick with that. Despite some online accolades from...
www.analogplanet.com www.analogplanet.com
 
JohnnyCashFan said:
For anyone looking for a budget MM/MC phono stage Fremer has given the Schiit Mani 2 a glowing Review. $149usd. Details of the changes in the Mk2 and tests here:
www.analogplanet.com

Schiit's Mani 2 MM/MC Phono Preamp Goes to the Head of the Budget Phono Preamp Class

If the audio industry handed out awards, the winner for “The most improved analog product of the decade” would be Schiit’s Mani 2 MM/MC phono preamplifier. Okay, that’s “click bait” so how about “Schiit’s Mani 2 might be the winner”? Yes, let’s stick with that. Despite some online accolades from...
www.analogplanet.com www.analogplanet.com
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Analog Planet won’t be worth reading when Fremer leaves. I guess I’ll have to start reading The Absolute Sound.
 
HiFi Guy said:
The digital section is already outdated. Max supported is 24/192. No DSD for high resolution digital.
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I know we talk about digital being outdated, but I do want to call out the idea of looking at the type of digital you are using. A lot of people don’t chase the digital file dragon, and a lot of labels don’t either. If you’re worried about digital being outdated, take a hard look at your actual use cases. For example, I have CDs. I do use them. Less than 10 are DSD hybrid SACDs. I’ve kicked around the idea of getting an SACD player, but for me, I just don’t own or aspire to own enough of those to justify the price.
And from streaming, I stick to Tidal and Spotify. A lot of that comes down to ease of use (in life, not just in my main system). For me, having a Connect platform into my steamer is worth more than being capable of the latest format. I’ve also never chased MQA, so I don’t look for that either. So after really evaluating all my digital uses, a “dated” DAC serves my purposes just fine. Similar to the “dated” vinyl format.
When I look at dacs now, I’m still looking at chips, but dual chips impress me more than DSD xyz. A class A analog stage impresses me more than MQA. Toroidal and dial power supplies impress me more than some other digital features.

Everyone is different in their preferences and use cases, so find the gear that fits for you.

Angsty said:
I use KEF LS50's in my office and they are nearly the perfect speaker for me in that limited space. Sound a lot like the upper end of my Thiel CS6's, which also feature a coaxial design.
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I just heard the LS50 Meta in my system this weekend. I was very impressed for the price. In my small room, they had great weight and authority being pushed by a 20w tube amp. They didn’t have quite the detail everyone writes home about, but certainly a leading amount for the price point. I walked away impressed. I think some LS50 Metas + a decent amp and the matching sub could really blow away a movie/tv based system. That combo would also be very hard to beat for the price.
 
displayname said:
I know we talk about digital being outdated, but I do want to call out the idea of looking at the type of digital you are using. A lot of people don’t chase the digital file dragon, and a lot of labels don’t either. If you’re worried about digital being outdated, take a hard look at your actual use cases. For example, I have CDs. I do use them. Less than 10 are DSD hybrid SACDs. I’ve kicked around the idea of getting an SACD player, but for me, I just don’t own or aspire to own enough of those to justify the price.
And from streaming, I stick to Tidal and Spotify. A lot of that comes down to ease of use (in life, not just in my main system). For me, having a Connect platform into my steamer is worth more than being capable of the latest format. I’ve also never chased MQA, so I don’t look for that either. So after really evaluating all my digital uses, a “dated” DAC serves my purposes just fine. Similar to the “dated” vinyl format.
When I look at dacs now, I’m still looking at chips, but dual chips impress me more than DSD xyz. A class A analog stage impresses me more than MQA. Toroidal and dial power supplies impress me more than some other digital features.

Everyone is different in their preferences and use cases, so find the gear that fits for you.


I just heard the LS50 Meta in my system this weekend. I was very impressed for the price. In my small room, they had great weight and authority being pushed by a 20w tube amp. They didn’t have quite the detail everyone writes home about, but certainly a leading amount for the price point. I walked away impressed. I think some LS50 Metas + a decent amp and the matching sub could really blow away a movie/tv based system. That combo would also be very hard to beat for the price.
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My feeling is that once it does 24/192 + (and maybe DSD 64) and had optical, coax and usb connections in its not going to date terribly as a DAC. I’d quite happily buy something, like my preamp, with a good quality DAC that fits those perameters I don’t think it will be redundant any time soon. I absolutely would not touch something with network/streamer built in, that’s likely where you’re going to become outdated very quick and are better off leaving out of an amp/preamp box.
 
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