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First System Upgrade, Need Some Help (First Post)


bijaker1

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Hello everyone,

My name is Bryan and I am a student at Arizona State University. I have been a reader for a long time now and have finally decided to join the forum. I bought my first pair of "real" speakers, a pair of Klipsch KG 5.2's for $120 (a steal IMO) about 5 months ago, and they have really grown on me. The 5.2's are driven by a Yamaha htr-6030 receiver using 12 AWG standard household copper cables I picked up from ACE hardware. The receiver is fed signal by my computer, which serves as both a CD player and a sound file player (WAV or FLAC usually), and occasionally for movies (although music is at much higher priority for this system). Having limited experience with setting up a system, I wanted to ask you all for help of any kind with this system. What is the most logical next upgrade? Is my receiver an issue (I have seldom come across Yamaha as a recommended amp)? Any criticism is welcome. Thank you for the advice! I look forward to joining the community.

Bryan

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maybe you could try picking up a turntable? its an interesting road to go down, and i certainly don't regret doing so myself! Although be warned, you may spend much of your free time at garage sales and thrift stores looking for records.I understand that this is not really an upgrade so to speak, but why upgrade unless the current system sounds unsatisfactory to your ears?

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maybe you could try picking up a turntable? its an interesting road to go down, and i certainly don't regret doing so myself!

This is definitely an interesting idea, although I've never listened to an analog source before, not that I can remember anyway. I will look into this. Do you know of any place I can listen to a turn-table?

I understand that this is not really an upgrade so to speak, but why upgrade unless the current system sounds unsatisfactory to your ears?

Regarding the reason for an upgrade, I probably should have stated this in the original post. A few years ago I was fortunate enough to listen to a pair of Cornwall II's, as demo'd by my girlfriend's father. I was completely blown away by the detail and power these speakers produced! I did not know such detail existed in recordings! Ever since I have been searching a similar sound, which led me to buy the KG 5.2's after much research and searching. I love the KG's but although they sound great, they do not sound as good as the Cornwalls (and the Heresy II's I've heard since buying the KG's), but the systems the Cornwalls and Heresys were played on were MUCH fancier setups, with pre-amp/power-amp configurations, large subwoofers, and dedicated CD players. One thing I can't shake from the memory of the Cornwalls is how effortless reproducing a kick drum sounded coming from them, while the other instruments seemed unaffected. So that is why I want some feedback regarding my system, to see what the next step is towards that sound I've been wanting since I first heard the Cornwalls.

Thanks for the help!

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I would look at the upgrade path with the source first. Since you are familiar with the computer as a source and likely have a library of digital music it makes sense to start there. A Digital-to-Analog (DAC) converter is the likely first purchase consideration. I don't have a specific product in mind but something that can handle the FLAC and WAV conversions and interface connection has the correct interface type depending on the outputs from your computer. Next I would look at a good quality but modest two channel integrated amp that can be had relatively inexpensively on eBay etc. For a limited expense you could get a hugh improvement in sound.

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Thank you all very much for the input!

I checked out the Denon PMA-373 and I had a few questions. I looked at the specifications and it is rated at "55+55" Watts (I'm guessing this means 55 WPC) at 8 Ohms. Now my Yamaha htr-6030 is rated according to Yamaha at 100 WPC. Will I notice a large difference in maximum power? I do enjoy music at loud volumes. I have not yet contacted the seller Bill.

As for the turntable, I think I'm going to have to wait until I have time to dedicate to accumulating a vinyl library.

Regarding the DAC David mentioned, I will start doing some research as I know little about these. After a little looking around I came across this, something about in my price range http://www.itemaudio.co.uk/superpro_dac.html. What do you think?

David you also mention getting a two-channel integrated amp, why is that?

Again thank you all for the help [:o]

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