Upgrade Advice

[toaster75]

Hi there,
I have had my SB for a few months and am very happy with it and it's functionality. However I have noticed that compared to my Marantz cd 52se the sound is a little bass light.

My system consists of an SB3 connected to a Audiolab 8000a using Van Den Hul 102mkIII, and a pair of mission 773e. Music filesare all encoded in FLAC using EAC. I listen to all sorts of music but a large proportion of bass heavy music!

Now admittedly my system has never been adept at playing the music i really like but with this new lack of low end grunt the situation has got to a point where iam prepared to do something about it. The only trouble is where do you folks think i should start?

Should i invest in a DAC, Amp or speakers....? Budget is flexible but no more than £500... Iam prepared to go secondhand.

Looking forward to your suggestions.
Thx

[tomjtx]

IMO the best upgrade would be a good DAC. The SB makes an excellent transport.
I had a LavryDAC10 which very close to the TP in sound quality It sells for 1,000.00 US

The Benchmark DAC is also excellent and is used on ebay or audiogon from time to time.

There are some good chinese dacs as well. The paradeseea gets a lot of raves

[totoro]

I usually agree with tomjtx, but not this time. If what you want is better bass, why not get a good subwoofer? Short of getting (probably pretty pricey) full-range speakers, this would seem your best option.

That will affect the sound a _lot_ more than a dac would. You could probably get a used rel strata for that price.

You can also set up digital eq using inguz http://www.inguzaudio.com

[JJZolx]

It all starts at the source. The lower end that you're now missing can never really be returned by the downstream components.

Either get a good DAC or have the SB3 modded, including a good power supply. I think the DAC would be the surer bet - certainly easier to change again if it doesn't suit your tastes.

[totoro]

I don't agree here. The OP seems to have a frequency response issue, and didn't like his original bass all that much. A new dac is _not_ going to make cheapish speakers suddenly able to give good bass. Simply won't happen. A good sub will, and if it's a really good one like the rel, it can stay in the system through many upgrades.

The power supply thing is certainly _not_ a magic bullet, in my experience. Got some elpacs cheap on ebay, stuck one in my system: neither I nor any of my friends can tell the difference. YMMV, of course.

Yes, there are dacs that sound better, even lots better. No, I don't think that would be a good place to start in this system. The sub _will_ give better bass, no question. And it can still be around later if/when the OP buys a lavry/benchmark/mytek/citypulse, whatever.

[opaqueice]

The frequency response of the SB has been measured and it's flat on the low end, so that's not the problem. I agree completely with Totoro - a subwoofer or new speakers will have a much, much bigger effect on bass and the overall sound than changing the source will.

Another possibility is equalization, either with DSP using the Inguz plugin or with a separate box.

[tomjtx]

Actually , totoro, I could agree with you as well. But I read the post a bit differently.
Since the op liked the bass with his cdp I thought the DAC might make more diff.

Thinking about your recommendation makes me wonder if the OP shouldn't audition a powered sub and a DAC and see which one gets him where he wants to go.
Of course, if he is a true audiofool like me he will buy both..........then room treatments .then psu :-) etc. etc. etc.

When he goes bankrupt he can sue us for leading him into insolvency.

[toaster75]

Heh... Appreciating your input here! Money is always the overriding factor!
I understand that my cd player was always renowned for have a rich tonal balance and the amp is much more neutral in it's response. I was thinking/hoping you would suggest changing the Amp...

Anybody agree?

[totoro]

Heh... Appreciating your input here! Money is always the overriding factor!
I understand that my cd player was always renowned for have a rich tonal balance and the amp is much more neutral in it's response. I was thinking/hoping you would suggest changing the Amp...

Anybody agree?

It's a decent amp. Doesn't seem like the weakest thing in the system to me. If you haven't heard a really good, music-oriented (as opposed to home-theater-oriented) sub, I think you'll probably be pretty amazed when you hear one.

I used to have triangle celius speakers, which don't have much bass. I added a cheapish sub, and it was better. A friend of mine got the rel to use with his, and the results were spectacular.

[Antipodes]

Perceived bass extension can be improved with a good linear regulated power supply. Further results are greater spaciousness and naturalness. There are those that disagree, sometimes based on experience, sometimes on ignorance and/or scepticism. But for some of us the effect is obvious - I am posting my opinion for you here and not looking for a debate with the naysayers. If you give this a try, just make sure you let the new power supply burn in first - until the caps form the sound will be worse. Whether you are looking for better quality bass, or you just want more quantity of the existing bass is something that's hard to tell - if its just more quantity you want then the sub may be the best suggestion, but that's not how I interpreted your post either.