Best upgrade for the money ?

I must agree with all those who suggest speaker placement and room acoustics as a first step. Speaker placement is free, except for your time, and room treatments can be as simple as rugs and curtains or as complex as ASC or EchoBuster acoustic panels and bass traps. Both can make or break a system - no matter how good the equipment. There are a number of web-sites and magazine articles that have helpful tips and hints on how to go about placing speakers. I was, and am still, having a problem with certain bass frequencies. Robert Harley's book on high-end audio talks about room resonance modes (frequencies that are exaggerated due to the room). I used his formulas and calculated the resonance modes. I went to Radio Shack and bought a handy-dandy SPL meter and tested his theories. And what do you know?...the calculated modes matched pretty closely to the measured ones. My point is, that I could have assumed that it was my speakers, or my amp, or my preamp, or...well, you get the picture. Now, an amp with thinner bass would probably work well. But, in my opinion that wouldn't fix the real problem. The room is the real problem. Think about upgrading electronics *after* doing the free stuff...speaker placement and room acoustics (I suppose rugs and curtains aren't exactly free). Whose knows, you might find that your system is as good as you need it to be for the moment.

I've got to agree with Dekay, Glreno, and all who support the need for speaker placement and room treatment. The most important thing about speakers, as with real estate, is Location, Location, Location. Once you've addressed these basics, then take a look (listen?) at your speakers, electronics etc. I have 5 ASC tube traps and 3 ASC panel traps in my listening room, and I consider them essentials. I'd also like to try the room lens. But you don't necessarily have to have the pro products-- like ASC, ie they're sort of expensive. Along with speaker placement, furniture, wall hangings, and anything that will act as diffusors (book cases?) can be useful. Also read Robert Harley's book "The Complete Guide to High End Audio", 2nd edition. This is all IMO. Good Luck. Craig.

I agree, proper speaker placement is critical. If speakers are not properly placed...most notably your imaging, soundstaging & bass performance will suffer greatly. Take the Polks & position them properly...you will experience a large sonic improvement. Now I suggest you sell the Polks plus add another $700 to your profit & buy a pair of high end speakers (I can't suggest a particular speaker because I don't know how much you would get for the Polks, but trust me there are many better than Polk). Then take those speakers & position them properly to realize a HUUUUGE sonic improvement over your previous sound.

I agree with all of your postings - the polks are the weakest link. They will be the first to go. Power cables - will I hear a BIG improvement with upgraded ones or is this more of a minor tweak?? The other option I have considered is adding a DAC. How much will this improve things? I'll also start playing with speaker positioning once I decide on a new pair. What's the normal $ amount to spend on a good/not great pair. Thank you all for your input. I now have a place to start. Rob

Rob: Forget about the power cords for now. They will make a relativily minor improvement $ for $ as compared to speaker replacement. You need to decide on your speakers before considering a DAC or anything else. Everything is system dependent in order to achieve some sort of synergy. You can buy good used speakers starting at the $750 range & approach great at the $1500-$2000 range. As an example...I saw a pair of Totem 1's on audiogon for $750 which will blow out your Polk's, however they are limited in the low end. You also need to be care with the efficiecy of the speaker, as I'm not sure how many WPC your amp puts out. Hope this helps.