Best upgrade for the money ?

I am unfamiliar with your CD front end, but if it has a digital out an anti-jitter filter might be a very sound investment. Theta digital makes a good one that's not too expensive, and so does camelot technologies (I use theirs). My own system improved from that upgrade significantly. Also added a Monster Power HTS2500 AC conditioning unit that improved things noticeably as well. Good luck. Mark

I agree with getting rid of the mid fi polks for something more hi end. Sell the Polks & throw in another $700 to get somthing decent (there would be many different speakers to choose from which will walk all over the Polks). The Polks simply don't do justice to the rest of your system ...no offense intended.

As a long-time Polk owner, I know how you must be feeling. I was fairly happy with all the models that I owned (s-10, rt-10, rt-12, rt-800) But ultimately, when I decided to upgrade my speakers, I already had everything else in place. Rega Planet, Conrad Johnson PV10AL preamp, Parasound HCA 1000A amplifier, Audioquest Topaz interconnects, and Midnight speaker cables.(I've since uprgaded everything but the Rega)When I dropped the Hales Revelation 3s into the system, I was not immediately "floored" by the overall improvement, as some people claim to be when changing components, although I did immediately notice a difference. WE get used to our "sound" after all, and usually, we tend to like it. Over the next few days, I spent a lot of free time listening, and began to notice details that I had never noticed before in familiar recordings. THe top end was free(er) from grain and the bottom end was awesome, tight and free from attention-grabbing boominess. After a few weeks, I realized that I was now in the presence of a truly special, more refined speaker than before. As someone who is familiar with Polk speakers, I would suggest, that if you like the general characteristics of your sound (imaging, bass response, sounstage, treble smoothness, etc), Keep the speakers. Put some $ into another area of your system that you feel is lacking. I am not familiar with Sim, but I seem to recall that it is fairly well-reviewed. I am not familiar with your front end either, but if it is more than 5 years old, you probably can beat it for not too much money. Or get a DAC. IF you are not happy with the sound you are getting, and want a CHANGE (as opposed to refinement of the current sound) buck up, and start looking at speakers. Dont buy, necessarily, but visit some stores, go out of town to another city, and check out different brands. It took me 8 months to find the right ones (and it turned out that I only kept them for 1.5 years) and that may not have been long enough. Dont walk into a store with any unnecessary pre-conceived notions, like "I want a floorstander" or "I want a 2-way speaker". Just listen. Something will probably catch your ears. If you have to, wait until you can spend more money, or once you have decided what you want, buy used. There's lots of different speakers out there, and chances are, there are some that you will enjoy as much as you have enjoyed your polks, but will match in performance any future upgrades to upstream components. Good luck!!!

I have to agree with Dekay. Room treatments are a must, and everyone ignores the effect a room has on a system. Most people end up buying equipment that sounds good in their room, and never experienced the full potential of the equipment they didn't buy because they never dealt with the anomalies in their acoustic environment. They basically tune their room with electronics, which is very expensive and never really hits the mark unless you just get lucky. Even changing a cable or doing a tweak makes a difference in how your room reacts to your system. Rememeber, speakers move air. If you change the way the speaker moves it, the anomalies in your acoustic environment will react differently. And just about everything you do in front of the speaker does change it. I doubt very much that anyone can claim to have a completely dead room. This really hit home for me today before reading your post. I was one of the first buyers of Argent Room Lenses, and they have been in my system for 5 years. They are the oldest component in my system. Why? Because they apply to every change I make in my system. They are moveable and versatile. Today, I was auditioning the new Audio Magic Clairvoiant power cord ($1500 - review on Sounstage to come). Most of the changes I liked, some I didn't. Then I started moving the room lenses, and was able to "tune out" all of the problems while keeping the improvements. Next, I put some Shakti on-lines on one of the other power cords. Again, some good things, some bad. The Shaktis made things more forward in the soundstage. I moved the center and outer lenses back 6 inches, and voila'....the soundstage deepened. Now the midrange was too recessed. I bought the middle lens forward three inches. Perfect! Now I had the blackness, rich harmonics, and detail without the forward presentation I had before. Without them, I would have never realized the potential of either of these devices. There are many reasons people don't do room treatments. They aren't exactly beautiful if you have to use your stereo room as living space. They aren't as much fun to buy as something that plugs in, hums, gets hot, and has pretty lights. And there is always that intagible "I don't think it will work" because doubters have never ventured there, and it's easier to dismiss the idea than experiment with it and gain the knowledge. I see those people posting comments on this site all the time. Used and sometimes new lenses go for around $600. to $700. Electronic acoustic tuning devices also exist, but are considerably more expensive. They plug in and have the pretty lights, and don't make your living space look like a gothic cathedral like the Room Lenses (my kids dig them, though). Ever read a rave review of one component, and then read a poor review of the same component from a different source? Or did you ever try something that everyone else says is good, but it sucked in your system? Without room treatments, you'll never know how good your next component really is.

Before changing any equipment following Dekay's advice. Speaker placement and vibration issues are the most effective tweaks. Your interconnects and cables are fine, they should be the last thing you need to change. After you address the setup issues your next step is to upgrade your source. But I suggest that you wait until the new digital formats have settled out (maybe 6 to 12 months). Your system can be upgraded, but your budget is insufficient to effect a fundamental change. New cables, cords etc. could help, but they are halfway measures. By this I mean they could produce an improvement in sound in your present system, but they might not survive your next level of upgrade. Be patient and take your time. New equipment is not always the appropriate answer.