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What's upgrading point?

kazuhito

kazuhito

New Member
I’m very happy if you give me any advices for upgrading the sound of my audio system…
Please let me know your kind advices. I much prefer classical music to Rock/Jazz:yes:


My system:

Speakers: ProAc Tablette Annyversary
Turntable: Rega RP6 (non customized)
Cartridge: Nagaoka MP500 (with 2mm Shim)
Amp: Sugden A21a Series 2
Phono Stage: Rega FONO MM MKII
SP Cable: Atlas Hyper Bi-wire,
RCA Cable: Atlas Hyper

MY current sounds: (on Youtube)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHJ1plAH4y49kqu2fiHNk3Q


Best Regards,
Kazuhito
 
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Nice gear BTW!

Apparently you're not satisfied with what you have. You have to determine where/what is your weakest link. That's what you should upgrade.

I'm a bass head! So, if that gear was mine I'd be looking at subwoofers.
 
JoeESP9 said:
Nice gear BTW!

Apparently you're not satisfied with what you have. You have to determine where/what is your weakest link. That's what you should upgrade.

I'm a bass head! So, if that gear was mine I'd be looking at subwoofers.
Click to expand...

That was my thought as I read the list of gear as well.
 
It's hard to get enough deep bass out of mini-monitors, so I would audition a few speakers with larger than 5-3/4" woofer.
 
I'm sticking with my recommendation to test out the system using very good quality source material. See what your present system can do. It would be nice if you could run your PC's output into a decent DAC and then into your preamp, to compare. Or if you could borrow a good CDP and run that directly into the preamp using a CD with excellent sound quality. This would give you a lot of information about your room acoustics, your speaker quality, and how close you are to your desires.

Do you play your music loud? Very loud? Unless you do, I think you have plenty of power. 50 wpc into 92dB speakers can generate a lot of volume and provide plenty of headroom, unless you push them hard.

I previously pointed out that it is equivalent to using a 200wpc amp into 86dB speakers. I know many here are advocates of high efficiency speakers, your 92db speakers are moderately high. Driving them with 50wpc is roughly equivalent to driving 98dB speakers with a 12-13 wpc amp, and many forum members drive their high efficiency speakers with less than that.

I'm presently driving 90dB speakers with a 20wpc tube amp in a 600sf room and can achieve volume levels sufficiently high for my taste. I do have a 180wpc solid state amp which I can switch into my system if I want to reach concert levels.

As to using Spotify, just yesterday I was comparing standard Spotify (160K) vs a very good CD from Holly Cole. Switching back and forth between them. The difference was significant. Spotify was bass heavy, with less definition in that bass, along with less air and transparency on the highs. Definitely not nearly as pleasurable to listen to. I was surprised by how much difference there was.
 
You may try a decent KT88 or EL84 tube amp and see how do like it, I bet your ProAc Tablette would like tubes better than SS especially for the Classical and Jazz, I had a ProAc studio 3 before, I know how excellent of their mid and high sounding.
 
Nice gear all around! :thmbsp:

Big fan of ProAc and not a bass head at all but I think I'd be leaning towards either adding a small, very musical sub or replacing the Tablettes with something that can put out a bit more on the bottom. With classical, even if you aren't listening to recordings with substantial focus on the bottom end, just having a little more energy down there can make the scale seem bigger and more realistic.

I know living quarters in Japan can be quite a bit different than those in the US so obviously my comments assume you have the space that allows for more bottom end energy.

And yes, a bit of room treatment would be on the horizon.
 
Really nice system.
Either quality sub(s) or a better phono stage. On paper, I feel that phono stage is the weakest link in your vinyl rig.
 
JoeESP9 said:
Nice gear BTW!

Apparently you're not satisfied with what you have. You have to determine where/what is your weakest link. That's what you should upgrade.

I'm a bass head! So, if that gear was mine I'd be looking at subwoofers.
Click to expand...

I agree with this. Figure out what's missing, sonically-speaking. What sonic qualities do you feel are missing from your current setup. This should help point you in the right direction.

Ever thought of trying some tube gear. If you want that lifelike realism, a good tube setup is hard to beat. You could even try the separates approach, running separate tube preamp and power amp units.

And large, sensitive/efficient speakers are usually a great match for tube gear. I'm currently running large, ported speakers (old British ones) and a 30wpc tube receiver, and it's a great combination.
 
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I think Proac tablette strongest point is their superb mid range performance and spacious soundstage just almost does like Rogers 3/5a does, adding a sub may result in messing up these strengths and wind up frustrated.
 
Thanks mates! Great kind advices!!!
My room size is about 4M x 4M. Maybe, It's smaller than other countries mates' room size.
So, I am happy with ProAc Tablette. BTW, I have a CDP and a LINN DS. Sometimes, I listen to Classical Music from such a Digital source. However, I feel it's not fun, I cannot enjoy it from Digital source. I much prefer Analogue sounds to Digital on classical, Rock and Jazz music...any kinds music. Maybe, I'm a vinyl lover...

I feel that my phono stage is the weakest link in my vinyl rig as well.
Please, could you let me know suggestion about phono stage.

This is my short list for next Phono Stage.
- Project PhonoBox RS
- A21SE Phono Stage Two
http://www.remusic.it/EN/Sugden-A21S...ifier-25a80d00
- Rega Aria

Thanks :)
 
JoeESP9 said:
Nice gear BTW!

Apparently you're not satisfied with what you have. You have to determine where/what is your weakest link. That's what you should upgrade.

I'm a bass head! So, if that gear was mine I'd be looking at subwoofers.
Click to expand...

My name is Blaze and I am also a BASSHEAD! Nice to meet you ;):D
 
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