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Upgrade Advice

T

Taff63

pfm Member
Hi

System:
Systemdek 3/Nima/DL-160
Exposure 17/18
Castle Harlechs

I have up to £1000 to upgrade and reckon it should probably go on the cart or speakers? I recently bought the amps and love the increased drive they have brought to the party.

My room is only 12x12 and the speakers shouldn't be too fussy about positioning - I'm considering maybe Shahinian Compass or a DV20X if a cart is the right move.

Any advice welcome.
 
I'd say you're on the right lines.

Transducers will make the biggest difference.

You might be lucky and find s/h pair of KEF LS50s, it's what I'm using and they are superb.

Could probably find you a nice s/h cart.
 
<scavenger mode on> I'd be interested in the DL160 if you do end up replacing it <mode off>

What is the phono stage in the Exposures like?

Richard
 
Hi,

Go for the Shahinians as they will give you more insight into the music than anything else you can do.

The rest is just the icing on the cake, but then I would say that.

Cheers

John
 
Dowser said:
<scavenger mode on> I'd be interested in the DL160 if you do end up replacing it <mode off>

What is the phono stage in the Exposures like?

Richard
Click to expand...



The phono stage in the Exposure seems very nice indeed - certainly not a weak link at the moment.

I'll let you know if I end up letting the Denon go but it looks like speakers first!
 
Eyebroughty said:
Hi,

Go for the Shahinians as they will give you more insight into the music than anything else you can do.

The rest is just the icing on the cake, but then I would say that.

Cheers

John
Click to expand...
I haven't heard the Shahinians, but I've not heard anything to match Maggies driven by a decent amp, which exposure are.
 
Gaius said:
I'd say you're on the right lines.

Transducers will make the biggest difference.

You might be lucky and find s/h pair of KEF LS50s, it's what I'm using and they are superb.

Could probably find you a nice s/h cart.
Click to expand...

Just had a look at the LS50's - what stands do you use with them and what are they on the end of? Any help with a cart appreciated ;)
 
I recently bought LS50's and they are outstanding, neutral, musical and infinitely enjoyable. They were a vast improvement over my existing Quad 12l2

I am using mine with a Marantz PM11s2 and occasionally wiring in my Rega Brio r from my second system. I have heard them with a friend Exposure 3010s2 and they sounded awesome
 
Yes, I have been deeply impressed by the Kef 50. It is not just a 'speaker of the month' but a genuinely outstanding bit of kit. And as speakers/rooms are the key to good hi fi, and your room is fairly small, the Kefs would get my vote. And you could get decent money for the Castles. Nice choice to be able to make.
 
I'd look seriously into going down the active speakers route. I'm lucky to have owned both the Harlechs and Compasses, and I'd suggest you just might be disappointed with the Compasses - they work for many people and you'll get a lot of positive feedback, but I found them very disappointing (I bought a fairly new pair for a knock-down price but quickly sold them on).

The Harlechs were decent but a little lazy - the improvements your amps bring makes me think that they benefit from a gutsy amp. As an alternatiev suggestion (though I haven't heard them, and though I'm almost loathe to bring them up), perhaps looking into something like the AVI ADM9s might be an option to consider. You might also look at active speakers from Genelec or Adam, though in this price-bracket you'd be looking at stand-mounters only.
 
Having been in the same position, as in having separates, I considered active speakers, and indeed experimented with a pair that were an unequivocal disaster. However, it seems unwise to throw away quality gear and limit yourself to speakers that you may not like. There are enough people who don't like the AVIs to indicate they're not to everyone's taste, while the Genelecs still require a preamp, so you don't gain on box count. Add in a phono preamp, (remember source is a Systemdek) and you've suddenly got more boxes than before, with less flexibility.

Anyway, having re-read the OP and realised my previous suggestion was utterly stupid, speakers well worth considering at under £1000 are the little Sonus Faber Toys. Heard them several times, sweet sounding, designed to sit on bookshelves or on desks, not major on bass but with that balanced SF mid/treble that never becomes fatiguing.
 
Taff63 said:
Just had a look at the LS50's - what stands do you use with them and what are they on the end of? Any help with a cart appreciated ;)
Click to expand...

Seems others also are liking the LS50, they are one of those outstanding products.

Your are quite right and shrewd to ask about stands as this make a huge difference, they can go from wow to meh!

KEF recommend the Partington Dreadnought Broadside which makes a lot of sense to me. They need a heavy stand to work and the Broadsides are about the best at their price.

When I got mine I was borrowing a pair of Apollo stands, quite heavy and good for the £130 they cost.

I then borrowed some Linn Katan stands, very light and rubbish, all the good things the KEFs do went away, a profound mistake.

I've ended up with the outrageously expensive Track Audio Precision stands which are perhaps the best stand made but in hindsight I'd probably settle with the Broadside and save the money.

I'm using Nordost White Lightning cable on them, they are driven by a Sugden A21a pure class A amp and they sound stunning.
 
avole said:
I haven't heard the Shahinians, but I've not heard anything to match Maggies driven by a decent amp, which exposure are.
Click to expand...

I would have to second the maggies. You could try the MMG's. If you dont like them send them back, although few people do that (any?).
 
Gaius
Have you kicked all the flat earth gear into touch now?
I seem to remember you doing this a while ago with Krell etc then going back to Naim.
 
muzzer said:
Gaius
Have you kicked all the flat earth gear into touch now?
I seem to remember you doing this a while ago with Krell etc then going back to Naim.
Click to expand...

Still have a Naim CD player, but essentially yes.

I love all that stuff up to a point and I suppose a certain price, classic 80's LP12. 32.5/Hi/160/Kans/SBL whatever; it's great fun but a bit of a one trick pony.

There IS a huge world outside of it which is better value and outperforms it, besides we all know there isn't really a man in the moon and that the Earth is actually round.

It WAS though, one of the most effective marketing campaigns of the industry.
 
Not heard Shahinian Compass but had some Arcs for a while when I had Naim amplification. I can see why some love them as they sound very crisp but to my mind they had a very unusual presentation which I didn't really take to. Maybe the Compass are very different anyway.

I briefly heard the Kef LS50s and they sounded ace.
 
Gaius said:
Oh, I have a Sumiko Blue Point No.2 cart you might like for £75, about half life left.
Click to expand...

That's a good deal. How does the Sumiko compare to the Denon? I ask because the Harlechs can sound a little bright on some material. The previous amp covered this up a bit as it rolled off at the top end but the Exposures, well, 'expose' this slight tendency.
 
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