Hi everyone! I'm new to audiokarma, and also to HiFi outside of my experience growing up with my Father's system. (Pioneer SX-850, Pioneer HPM 60, Sony PS4300 TT with Shure V15 Type IV cartridge)
I am living in Malaysia where HiFi is quite expensive.
My Current system setup is as follows:
Soundstage StageOne hybrid amplifier 35W/channel -- Chinese custom build for a distributor in KL, no phono.
Mission MV6 floor standers (8ohm, 89 db). Nothing on AK about these, though I am happy with them so far. What i could afford at time.
Audio Technica AT120USB -- terrible pre-amp but bought for versatility and ease of upgrade. I plan to upgrade the cartridge to a AT440mla and bypass the pre-amp.
Speaker Cables are MIT 16/2 banana plugs (does this matter?)
Currently my set-up has two major issues (that i am aware of and I plan on fixing in the near future).
1 - i need to upgrade my phono cartridge and bypass the aweful pre-amp in my AT-120USB TT.
2. I need to purchase a new amplifier as i am not satisfied with my Soundstage StageOne. Lows and mids are nice, but it has issues. It has quite harsh highs as soon as i pump the volume at or past 50% (which is often). It also does not reproduce treble heavy music very well. (I listen to everything not limited to: classic country, rockabilly, hip-hop, funk, punk, and even metal, so this is a major issue to me)
I have family coming in December from Canada and hope to have them bring the new AT cartridge and hopefully a new amplifier or pre-amp/amp combo.
I want to stay away from digital amps as I use my TT a lot. I also would love to have a quality tube amp, but i think it is out of my price range at the moment. I used to have a Chinese tube when i lived in China but i was unable to move it with me when i left. The sound was nice but it struggled powering my speakers.
http://www.china-hifi-audio.com/en/...il3-el34-4-tube-integrated-amp-2014ver-p-1251
I really like the tube sound but also realize i will probably get more bang for my buck if i take the solid state path.
Here are the options i was thinking about:
1. Art DJPreII phono stage with a either an entry level NAD (C 326 BEE for example) or a Marantz.
2. Rega Brio-R -- which i think would be a good investment due to size and weight which i could easily move with me, though it is about twice as much as option 1. I am also curious as to if the phono stage in the Brio-R would surpass the Art DJPreII? I have read lots of literature on AK about both of these products.
3. Pro-Ject MaiA -- which sounds like it would be pretty cool as i could use digital library paired with bluetooth from my laptop along with what i would assume would be a quality Phono Stage in the amp. Though i would want to wait for some reviews of this unit first. Also, the 25W/channel sounds like it might be a little bit underpowered for my speakers.
Any advice and or constructive comments are greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Tee
I am living in Malaysia where HiFi is quite expensive.
My Current system setup is as follows:
Soundstage StageOne hybrid amplifier 35W/channel -- Chinese custom build for a distributor in KL, no phono.
Mission MV6 floor standers (8ohm, 89 db). Nothing on AK about these, though I am happy with them so far. What i could afford at time.
Audio Technica AT120USB -- terrible pre-amp but bought for versatility and ease of upgrade. I plan to upgrade the cartridge to a AT440mla and bypass the pre-amp.
Speaker Cables are MIT 16/2 banana plugs (does this matter?)
Currently my set-up has two major issues (that i am aware of and I plan on fixing in the near future).
1 - i need to upgrade my phono cartridge and bypass the aweful pre-amp in my AT-120USB TT.
2. I need to purchase a new amplifier as i am not satisfied with my Soundstage StageOne. Lows and mids are nice, but it has issues. It has quite harsh highs as soon as i pump the volume at or past 50% (which is often). It also does not reproduce treble heavy music very well. (I listen to everything not limited to: classic country, rockabilly, hip-hop, funk, punk, and even metal, so this is a major issue to me)
I have family coming in December from Canada and hope to have them bring the new AT cartridge and hopefully a new amplifier or pre-amp/amp combo.
I want to stay away from digital amps as I use my TT a lot. I also would love to have a quality tube amp, but i think it is out of my price range at the moment. I used to have a Chinese tube when i lived in China but i was unable to move it with me when i left. The sound was nice but it struggled powering my speakers.
http://www.china-hifi-audio.com/en/...il3-el34-4-tube-integrated-amp-2014ver-p-1251
I really like the tube sound but also realize i will probably get more bang for my buck if i take the solid state path.
Here are the options i was thinking about:
1. Art DJPreII phono stage with a either an entry level NAD (C 326 BEE for example) or a Marantz.
2. Rega Brio-R -- which i think would be a good investment due to size and weight which i could easily move with me, though it is about twice as much as option 1. I am also curious as to if the phono stage in the Brio-R would surpass the Art DJPreII? I have read lots of literature on AK about both of these products.
3. Pro-Ject MaiA -- which sounds like it would be pretty cool as i could use digital library paired with bluetooth from my laptop along with what i would assume would be a quality Phono Stage in the amp. Though i would want to wait for some reviews of this unit first. Also, the 25W/channel sounds like it might be a little bit underpowered for my speakers.
Any advice and or constructive comments are greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Tee
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