Entry-level: an analogue-only Marantz PM6003 amp with a Marantz CD6005 CD player (and hence a DAC), a Sonos Connect (and hence another DAC), and streaming through an iPad+Audioquest Jitterbug+Audioquest Black Dragonfly (another DAC), through B&W 6008's or Sennheiser HD650's. For some music, this is a neat set-up and perfectly good. It loved modern electronic dance music, but wasn't so keen on Romantic orchestral music.
First upgrade was getting the speaker and listening positioning right. This makes the single largest difference. Accepting that you will sacrifice everything in one room in the pursuit of disappearing speakers and a deep and wide soundstage.
Second upgrade was the speakers, to KEF LS50's - advice from Steve Gutenberg and John Darko videos, plus a deal from Sevenoaks Hi-Fi. I wrote about that here.
Next upgrade was a sub-woofer, the REL T Zero - advice from a Steve Gutenberg video, I wrote about that here.
In both cases I noticed that all the pros had these things - though usually heftier sub-woofers.
I spent a long time on the next upgrade. I'd long had my eyes on the Naim Uniti Atom, because everyone raved about it. My local Kent-based hi-fi telephone sales line, however, did not sound enthusiastic. They preferred the NAD M10, which was out of consideration because no headphone socket means an external headphone amp, or a CD player with a headphone amp. (And who the heck makes an amp without a 6.35mm headphone socket? Oh, the Uniti Atom has a 3.5mm socket. Come on guys: 6.3mm is good enough for the stage and studio, it's good enough on next-level gear.)
So I followed my instinct struck the Atom from my list.
The CD player had to be improved. That's £1,000 and some more. Or I could get a CD transport, and an external DAC, or an amplifier with a built-in DAC. This took me into combination hell. The CD Transport became a fixed point, which meant an integrated amplifier / DAC or an external DAC + analogue integrated amplifier.
Yep, external DACs. Another box. The names start sounding like an audiophile review: Denafrips, NAD, Chord. I had a reluctance about that.
Not getting anywhere. Looking up too many details I don't really know how to interpret.
Time for a thought-experiment. Just go half-bonkers. What about actual high-end? A McIntosh? The MA5300 is only £6,500 or so and has built-in DACs. Surely a vanity purchase, but would it ever look good on my Kallax units.
Okay, not that then. But it got me looking at the more boutique-y suppliers. And there I saw Hegels.
The reviewers all like Hegel amps. They refer to Hegel when they want a reference. The name is pronounced with a certain deference. Plus, look, there's the H120 with a built-in high-quality DAC, power just where I want it, and a reassuringly heavy toroidal transformer. On the downside, it has no wi-fi and rudimentary streaming, but that's all going to be controlled by the iPad.
Oh! Look! Premium Sound do a home trial service!
Hi, is that Premium Sound? Can you send me an Audiolab 6000CDT (silver) and a Hegel H120 (white) to try out please? Yep, here are my credit card details. The two parcels arrived on two different days, which was probably a courier thing. I was busy for a couple of days, and then opened the boxes. Caaaaaarefully, because if I didn't like it, it has to be spotless on return. (Since I took the demo units they sent, they gave me a discount. That makes me a real audiophile.)
Unplug the wires from the existing kit. Set up the new stuff. Take a photograph of the subwoofer connections so I don't forget. iPad into the USB-B socket; CD transport into an optical input; Sonos into an analogue until another QCD optical cable arrives from Amazon.
Put on Barenboim's Mahler 4 - my test for all improvements.
Oh Holy Moly! So that's what they heard when the orchestra was playing! It sounded like an orchestra, not like a good recording of an orchestra. It sounded like it must have sounded to the record company, or they would never have released it.
I have gone on with that feeling with almost everything I've played.
Let's be realistic. There is some music that the original set-up handled almost as well. Close-mic'ed quartets, jazz, electronic dance music, contemporary composed music, solo recitals, not to mention 320kps Spotify. For the price, excellent, just like the What Hi-Fi reviews of Marantz gear say. Some recordings are just a mess, and nothing will ever change that.
The big jump is from the space- and budget- friendly all-in-one units from Denon and the like, to entry-level hi-fi. It's a jump in cost and a matching jump in quality. The jump from entry-level to next-level is only worth making if you have accepted the Discipline of the Sweet Spot, or if you're going to spend serious money on headphones (Sennheiser HD 660S type money and above). For most people it's a jump that won't be worth making, and there's nothing wrong with that. It depends on how much you listen to music.
Anyway, that's me ascended to 'next-level gear'. And happy with it.
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