So lets look at this from a perspective of a stereo system - whatever you have for example it can be a turntable based or digital based system but as long as its primary objective is to play your favorite source of music then what equipment would you buy?
the only condition is that you need to be able to really afford it ie im not interested in your dream setup - we all dream about stuff that we cannot afford but what i want to know is that if you sold everything that you had and if you had a similar amount that you started off with (at retail list price .... lets be generous since we did not pay list price for stuff that we purchased second hand)
right now i have a simple stereo setup which comprises of a CD player, amp and speakers so if i was to modernize it a bit i would probably like to add some form of DAC so i could include other modern sources into it so for me heres the type of stuff i would like to get
Emotiva ERC-2 CD player
http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/sources/products/erc2
WHY : well because its a decent cd player and its not so expensive - there are probably better ones like the audiolab etc but i just need the player as a transport so this one would work as well as i need it to
Emotiva XDA-2 DAC
http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/processors/products/xda2
WHY : again because its budget friendly and it has a lot of inputs and outputs and it should match the other emotiva stuff i like in terms of aesthetics .... if i had a bigger budget then Gerts Vivere would be top in the list and second to that would be an audiolab MDAC but for now this would fit the bill and also double up as a decent headphone amp for my sennheiser headphones
Emotiva USP-1 stereo preamp
http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/processors/products/usp1
WHY : starting to sound like a stuck record but budget friendly as well as aesthetic appeal when matched to other equipment in the list - and i wouldnt need much more that this unit has to offer
Emotiva XPA-2 power amp
http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/amplifiers/products/xpa2
WHY : enough power to power a small third world country - should sound good enough for my limited hearing and once again very budget friendly to my limited pockets - also the maximum amount of power required for my speaker choice
Martin Logan Electromotion ESL speakers
http://www.martinlogan.com/electromotion/em-esl.php
WHY : i always wanted a pair of Martin Logans - these are the most affordable pair of ESL speakers out there today - they will also create some headroom in the amplifier due to the nominal impedance rating ie they will make the amplifier produce more than the 300watt at 8 ohms since these have an impedance rating of 6 ohm
they should also work pretty well in the large room that i have since they are comparatively large .... the higher models would work even better but i cannot afford to realistically step up to those
So i might work this into being a 4year or 5 year upgrade plan - maybe start by getting the XDA-2 DAC in the next couple of months and carry on as finances permit so that in around 5 years time from no i would have this system that im describing up above - it wont be a million miles away from where i am currently BUT it has advantages in that it will be more modern and more easily configurable system for the room that i have and will emphasize different things for example a different type of speaker with higher amounts of power than i have currently so while it may be a sideways step in terms of equipment it could create a totally different type of sound which i might deem an improvement
so what type of equipment would you like to upgrade/sidegrade to?
the only condition is that you need to be able to really afford it ie im not interested in your dream setup - we all dream about stuff that we cannot afford but what i want to know is that if you sold everything that you had and if you had a similar amount that you started off with (at retail list price .... lets be generous since we did not pay list price for stuff that we purchased second hand)
right now i have a simple stereo setup which comprises of a CD player, amp and speakers so if i was to modernize it a bit i would probably like to add some form of DAC so i could include other modern sources into it so for me heres the type of stuff i would like to get
Emotiva ERC-2 CD player
http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/sources/products/erc2
WHY : well because its a decent cd player and its not so expensive - there are probably better ones like the audiolab etc but i just need the player as a transport so this one would work as well as i need it to
Emotiva XDA-2 DAC
http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/processors/products/xda2
WHY : again because its budget friendly and it has a lot of inputs and outputs and it should match the other emotiva stuff i like in terms of aesthetics .... if i had a bigger budget then Gerts Vivere would be top in the list and second to that would be an audiolab MDAC but for now this would fit the bill and also double up as a decent headphone amp for my sennheiser headphones
Emotiva USP-1 stereo preamp
http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/processors/products/usp1
WHY : starting to sound like a stuck record but budget friendly as well as aesthetic appeal when matched to other equipment in the list - and i wouldnt need much more that this unit has to offer
Emotiva XPA-2 power amp
http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/amplifiers/products/xpa2
WHY : enough power to power a small third world country - should sound good enough for my limited hearing and once again very budget friendly to my limited pockets - also the maximum amount of power required for my speaker choice
Martin Logan Electromotion ESL speakers
http://www.martinlogan.com/electromotion/em-esl.php
WHY : i always wanted a pair of Martin Logans - these are the most affordable pair of ESL speakers out there today - they will also create some headroom in the amplifier due to the nominal impedance rating ie they will make the amplifier produce more than the 300watt at 8 ohms since these have an impedance rating of 6 ohm
they should also work pretty well in the large room that i have since they are comparatively large .... the higher models would work even better but i cannot afford to realistically step up to those
So i might work this into being a 4year or 5 year upgrade plan - maybe start by getting the XDA-2 DAC in the next couple of months and carry on as finances permit so that in around 5 years time from no i would have this system that im describing up above - it wont be a million miles away from where i am currently BUT it has advantages in that it will be more modern and more easily configurable system for the room that i have and will emphasize different things for example a different type of speaker with higher amounts of power than i have currently so while it may be a sideways step in terms of equipment it could create a totally different type of sound which i might deem an improvement
so what type of equipment would you like to upgrade/sidegrade to?
