Best return for the money, system upgrade suggestions please.

Hello again!
I accidentally failed to mention another component in my system, a Sunfire HRS series Sub-woofer.

Thank you again for any and all suggestions! 

Pay down your loans and enjoy what you have.

Yes, I have received that advice from many! However, just about all of the money I have earned or received as a gift has been either invested or used to pay down my loans, I would like to do something nice for myself. I am not necessarily looking to spend all of this savings, it's not burning a hole in my pocket, but maybe there is something out there for say, $200 I'm missing out on, that is why I am looking for some help.

I do thank you though for your thoughts.

Room acoustics, if you don't have that done, is your best place to start.


Otherwise your DAC.



Best,
E

The best one on your list is the dedicated AC line. But even then only if its DIY (otherwise, electrical, too expensive, poor value) and you're the homeowner AND you'll be there a while. 

Otherwise you want to look for things that will:
1. Be permanent. No obsolescence. Never wear out.
2. Be used your whole life regardless of equipment upgrades.
3. Actually be appreciated more and more as time goes by.

Everything on your list is a fail by these outstanding criteria.  

What does pass the test:
1. Pay down interest bearing debt.
2. Synergistic Research ECT and HFT.

There's a reason they're in that order. Don't be a slave to debt.

Pay down your debt! That's the number one thing you should always do with extra money. Later, you can spend on toys. Enjoy the system you have now.

I recently added a second subwoofer.
A second M&K Mark 2       8” sub.    Discover Deep Base
I had one originally I purchased 17 yrs ago  had it wired to a separate 5.1 theatre.
Found another one on eBay $160 delivered ,swapped out a 10” from
my two channel set up. Swapped in the two 8” m&k.
Sounded good w one  10 “sub,  But fantastic with  the two M&K 8”.
Deeper Tight Base immediately noticed.
Midrange seemed much better also.
Best low  dollar, night / day difference low cost I’ve ever done.
Something about those original m&k subs makes them very good design
The  MK  8” subs replaced a much more expensive  10” subwoofer previously on the 2 channel ,10”,now in the 5.1 system

System details are in my virtual profile

R

Pay down those loans!

After that, source first. IMHO your system is unbalanced by the middling digital sources, YMMV.

I like Michael Green’s suggestion.

A streamer plus a Tidal subscription is another good option.  So much music to explore for such a small investment.

Room acoustics can cost from $0.00 to $100k and up. I suggest zero for now, there is a lot that can be done with books, plants, moving furniture, curtains, rugs and carpets. I am getting tired of this stupid self-advertising by some.
I would upgrade speaker cables first and get couple of decent power cords, not necessarily spend all the amount you have. This would complete the amp/speakers/speaker cables unit for the time being..

Hi inna4,
Thanks for the suggestions! The only room acoustic problem I believe to  have at the moment is when the music is turned up, all of the pictures on the walls really rattle, it's caused by my Sub. All of my power cords are by Nordost and seem to do quite well.

What Speaker cables would you recommend?

P.S I have a premium subscription with TIDAL and I love it!

Thank you!

grm, I can't be sure but since you have Kimber interconnects you might want to try Kimber speaker cables first, unless you feel that you may not like your interconnects.
Besides, very long time ago I tried those Audioquests 4 and they were terrible.

How do you use the cambridge Dacmajic plus. Of your active components it seems to me that it is the weakest link. Does the Cambridge Azure CD player have digital inputs?

Hi and thank you for the response!
The Dacmajic plus is at the heart of my system and feeds my Krell from it's balanced outputs. I feel in terms of features and cost it is a great value and some say a giant killer. I run my CDP through it, my Wadia 171i through it, I stream TIDAL through it from my PC, and lastly having loaded the TIDAL app on my phone, I stream BT with the aptx interface. One more thing, since the unit also has SE outputs and balanced, I run the SE outputs directly to my headphone amp, sounds great. The only thing I feel missing is a remote that would let you select the features of the DAC. I agree this is the weakest link in my audio chain, but what can I get for around 2K with a similar feature set and much better SQ?? Thank you!
grm

grm
I would recommend that you add a HFC  MC-1 Pro power conditioner to your system. It will effect all of the equipment that is plugged into your dedicated line for your system. The effects are not subtle !

I agree you should enjoy what you have, its a fine system.  Buy an Auralex Sub Dude for under the sub..... great accessory that's only $60 and makes a difference....

@grm - I've owned the Dacmagic and I think it is probably the place I would start the upgrade process.

I have also owned a Schiit Bifrost, and the latest version of this DAC is much better than the one I had and the latest multi-bit option is only $599 - so you can upgrade and pay off some of your debt

The Bifrost responds very nicely to good cables.

Hope that helps

Nice, room treatmenr/optimization. Single most cost effective way to get any system to really flaunt it's gitty up. Just saying.

Hello to all,

Thank you for sharing your wisdom and suggestions.

I ended up getting lucky, I contacted Cambridge regarding my failed AZUR 840C CDP. They accepted it as a trade-in and sent me a prepaid shipping label to send it back. Then they provided me with a code to purchase a brand new AZUR 851N Streamer/DAC for half of list price. It's on it's way from CA, really looking forward to hearing it as it has received many rave reviews! Being made overseas, I hope it works out of the box. This will replace my DacMagic Plus, a weak link in my system as pointed out to me in this forum, and was purchased way below my budget, the rest goes to paying off student loans and the DacMagic Plus will be going up for sale.

I would like to add that I have read many complaints about Cambridge Audio's extremely poor customer service. In my case, I found their support to be superb. Offering me a brand new completely different unit for a Jurassic period CDP went beyond my expectations. They were extremely helpful, quick to respond, answered all of my technical questions and were very professional.

Thanks again everybody - most appreciated!

GRM  

Glad it worked out for you.

I suggest that you audition the new ADD-Powr ElectraClear or Symphony made by Coherence Systems. They are designed by the founder of Quantum Products and QRT from many years ago.
These amazing and affordable power conditioning/harmonizing devices will take your system's sound quality to new heights, I promise you. 

A second subwoofer or some kind of decorative room treatments and or bass traps.  With 2K you could do both! 

Unless your room is already done, 100% acoustic treatments! Check out GIK Acoustics stuff. No gear upgrade can match the sound per dollar spent on acoustics. Next would be speaker placement (free!)