Question Let's hear your upgrade suggestions for my system, PLEASE!

berniebond

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Hi,

I am after a major stereo upgrade following the purchase of B&W 720s2 speakers.

Currently I use a Cambridge 740C CD Player and Audiolab 8000p+q combo

I very much like the looks of the Innous Zen Server to buy next, which would need to find a unit that allows "USB B in" with high res signals.

I narrowed down to the following options but I am still open to other options:

- Oppo BDP 205: As I only have the oppo bdp 83 an update on the video side would be helpful. And I could use Pure Audio mode when playing music from the server via USB B. I also have approx. 40 SACDs, which would profit from this upgrade (playing via multichannel analog outs to a yamaha AVR 3067)

- Cambridge Audio 851n or CXN V2: in reality, the innous server can do everything streaming-wise and more (Tidal, Roon, maybe not internet radio?)

- A stand alone dac like chord hugo (used) or audiolab m-dac+: if a seperates solution brings a sizeable plus in quality

- A new stereo amp with a D/A Converter built in (Exposure 3010s2d?, MusicalFidelity6?). As in all honesty, the audiolab 8000q+p combos has seen many springs already...

I hope to get a lot of suggestions to make my head spin even more.

Bernie
 
I have just changed. Can't speak highly enough of the high end Yamaha kit

A-S2100 AMP
CD-S2100 SACD/CD player ( with DAC you can plug into )
NP-S303 Streamer.
Kef R series speakers and rel sub.

The neighbors love it.
 
What sort of budget do you have?

I’ve recently turned my back on the never ending upgrading merry-go-round that is multichannel and I’m back to 2 channel only.

I’ve simplified even further and I’m about to sell a Krell pre and EAD power amp to go back to a decent integrated. Looks like I’ll be going for an MF KW500 but an integrated that did catch my eye was the Hegel H360. Not cheap at around £2000 used but the H160 offers similar features with less power at far lower prices.
These are excellent amps with DACs and streaming built in.

My music is ripped to flac and held on a Synology NAS all fed into a (recently bought on this site) CA 851N. I’ve owned a few streamers including a Marantz, Pioneer N50 and CA SM6 but the 851N is on another level.
Well built, excellently spec’d and smooth in use and it sounds excellent - I’m using it with £20K worth of amps and speakers and it fits right in. The pre amp functioning in DSP driving the power amp directly has made the Krell redundant. The DAC section has made my AudioSector NOS DAC redundant (and blows it away with DSD ripped from my SACDs). With flac at 44.1 it easily matches my old Krell 300CD player.
My current Marantz CD17 KI hasn’t been turned on for almost 2 years now. I managed to finally afford my ‘end game’ speakers recently - the 851N has ended my front end search.

Tidal should be supported in the next firmware update too.
 
The Oppo UDP-205 makes a lot of sense if you need a UHD spinner that can also yield decent multichannel SACD and stereo replay. It will stream over USB, HDMI, optical, coax and your home network. It is essentially a UDP-203 + Sonica DAC in the same box, so there would be no need for an additional DAC or replacing the amplification for one with an internal DAC. I'm happy with my Oppo UDP-205.

To benefit from UHD you would need to upgrade your Philips 42PF9731, so the money you save by not needing multiple audio boxes could be spend on then video upgrade.
 
The 205 will give you a very flexible CD based source, and the DACs will be good enough to use for the likes of an Innuos server, so you would be able to digitally plug it into the Oppo via USB and control it directly with any number of third party control apps like iPeng or SqueezePad.
 
Thanks for your advice! Keep it coming !

My 1st choice to upgrade at the moment is indeed the Oppo, as I think I could even get rid of my Cambridge 740C CD-Player when buying this machine. I guess the Oppo surpasses the 740C in terms of quality (with Pure Audio mode).

Also, having a BDP-83 Codefree I think about keeping that for the odd region A or Region 1 disc...

As of now, I was unable to update my forum signature: I already do have a new TV (LG 55E6d). So this also is an argument for the oppo. Quick question here: could I connect my Sky Box (not the Q one) to the Oppo 205 for upconversion to 4K quality. Does this make sense?

As a control app I would plan to use roon. At least for 2 months testing.
 
As of now, I was unable to update my forum signature: I already do have a new TV (LG 55E6d). So this also is an argument for the oppo. Quick question here: could I connect my Sky Box (not the Q one) to the Oppo 205 for upconversion to 4K quality. Does this make sense?
Innuos are Roon compatible, and can be used as part of a Roon compatible system, or as a stand alone Roon product.
As for upscaling via the Oppo, my 103 won’t upscale external sources, it’ll just pass them through, but not sure of the new range does or doesn’t.
 
The Oppo UDP-205 can scale to UHD for you, you just need to use its HDMI input. Frankly though, since your TV can scale - and probably just as well, I don't see the point of the extra contortions, and would suggest that a direct Sky - TV connection is much easier.

To update your signature, point to your name at the top right, then click on Signature on the drop down menu that appears.
 
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Hi. I presume you meant the B&W 702 S2 speakers? If so, crikey, that is a lot of speaker!

Are you sure that the Audiolab power amp is getting the best from that @ 100 watts into 8 ohms?

It might be enough, as sensitivity is relatively high at 90db, B&W recommend 30 to 300 watts, but it might be something to consider, seeing as you are looking for ideas.
 
I could use the yamaha 3067 receiver in pure audio mode but i thought a stereo amp would be better. Dont you think so?

I do want to upgrade to a new amp also but i just bought the speakers and plan to add the oppo and innous server $£€
 
I could use the yamaha 3067 receiver in pure audio mode but i thought a stereo amp would be better. Dont you think so?

I do want to upgrade to a new amp also but i just bought the speakers and plan to add the oppo and innous server $£€
No, I think the pre amp / power amp combo would definitely sound better than the Yamaha AVR for music listening, it is just the power amp section that I was questioning in terms of if it has enough power to drive the new speakers. I guess it would have been fine for the Kef iQ5's, but *maybe* the B&W 702 S2's would respond better with more power?

I use pro audio power amps myself, purely for value, you could maybe try one and see how it sounds. There are a few online retailers that offer a 30 day returns, something like this:

Crown DriveCore XLS 1502 PA amplifier for sale | Bax Music
 
Oh, come on! I was so settled on the oppo and now I think of preferring to update on the amp side. Rotel 1592 fits my eye...although my local dealer pushes me to buy the Exposure 3010s2d with additional USB module. This is stressful- in a fun way! ;-)
 
BTW: just got the 702s from B&W and after having CM10s for 3 years, my wife doesent even know they're new ones :)
 
Your first post said that the Audiolabs were old, but not that they were misbehaving. IMHO, if the Audiolab pre/power is still working fine, there's no need to update it and you can address functionality first. With 100W into 8 Ohms RMS and 40A peak, the 8000Q should be quite capable of driving your new B&W loudspeakers to well beyond safe listening levels.
 
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But how could I get Home Theatre surround via the Yamaha Receiver when the Front L+R are connected to the stereo amp? Don't I have to buy newer equipment with a balanced line in (to connet with the Yamaha Pre Outs)
 
But how could I get Home Theatre surround via the Yamaha Receiver when the Front L+R are connected to the stereo amp? Don't I have to buy newer equipment with a balanced line in (to connet with the Yamaha Pre Outs)
No the Yamaha pre-outs will be RCA's, then you can connect them into any amp you like, using whatever inputs that amp has. With the Crown amp, it has RCA inputs and banana plug outputs, so is very consumer friendly. It also has XLR and TRS inputs, so you can pick which of those three inputs that you want to use.

However, for music purposes, I wouldn't recommend just adding a power amp to the AVR, as all this will do is make the audio louder, and give you more headroom for dynamic peaks, great for movies but for music you need more. What it won't do is make the music sound better in terms of clarity and voice / instrument separation. For that, you need a more 'musical' pre-amp, or you can use the pre-amp section of an integrated amplifier.

So, the connections are.. AVR L&R pre-outs into a musical pre-amp or integrated amp - pre-outs of pre-amp or integrated amp into the power amp.

When listening to movies, everything is switched on and the pre-amp / integrated amp is just acting as a switch.

When listening to music, the AVR is switched off and you are just using the pre-amp / integrated amp and power amp.
 
Hi guys, just wanted to offer an upgrade after a busy time and maybe ask (again) for suggestions how next to improve my system.

I now sold my Cambridge CD player and bought a Innuos Zen MK3, a Parasound Halo Integrated and a Roon subscription.

With the Innuos I purchased a recommended Vertere DFI Double USB cable and a Goldkabel Executive LS Rhodium Biwire speaker cable for my B&W 702s.

Generally speaking - I am already having fun ...

There are some areas I am thinking about:

- Mains Cables maybe? Mains Plugs?
- standalone DAC maybe?
- Standalone Streamer or Roon Nucleus?
- Subwoofer (as the amp does analog bass management with high & low pass crossovers)
- splash out on Oppo 205 to replace my bdp 83 for SACD and DAC ?

Looking forward to your thoughts, i f you kindly take the time to reply :)


bernie
 
@berniebond can you describe what it is about your current set-up that you want to improve upon. Is the sound quality not good, or do you need more features?
 

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