Help! Can't decide what's worth my money.

[Bob257]

I currently drive a pair of Focal 1028be speakers with a Yamaha a-s801 integrated amp. My turntable is the Rega P6 with the Exact II MM cartridge. My CD player is the Marantz 6006. I'm wondering if I should upgrade my amp. I'm looking at the McIntosh MA252 or, if I save enough money, the MA352. Others that I'm considering are the PS Audio Stellar Stack and their phono preamp, the Luxman 505 MkII or 507Mk II, and the Parasound Hint 6. Am I crazy? Am I just going down a rabbit hole? The Yamaha, MA252, and the Luxman 505 are rated at 100 watts/channel. The 507 at 110, the Parasound at 160, the 352 at 200, and the PS audio at 350 (mono block set). The Yamaha does sound good, but maybe I'm not a good listener? My room is odd shaped, like the Key on ZZ top video! I sit around 7 feet from the speakers and listen to classic rock and jazz at low to medium levels. The ceiling is 8 foot. Should I just "chill" or would I really benefit sonically to one of the other amps? If so, what would you suggest? I'm driving myself crazy here!

 

[Truthslayer]

Sounds like you got upgrade fever. If it sound good now then really no need to upgrade. However only you can make that decision.
If you do decide to upgrade, the choice of product or brand should be your decision, we all hear a little differently. That's why mine or someone else's recommendation, might not be your flavor. The only recommendation I will give is what product's to stay away from. Just say NO to Parasound.

 

[Pogre]

Upgrading to a more expensive amp likely won't produce any audible improvements. Where you want to look for significant sonic upgrades is speakers. You already have some very nice speakers so that might be pretty expensive in your case, lol.

You know, when I really got into learning about room acoustics and made some adjustments to the positioning of my speakers it made a real difference. I felt like I got an upgrade just using some positional eq (proper distance from room boundaries, toe in, distance apart, etc.). If you haven't already it's worth the time and effort. You might be surprised at the results.

 

[ryanosaur]

Yup... the free upgrade is where I would start. Speaker positioning, and better understanding of room acoustics. If you've really got the bug... learn how to use REW with a good quality, compatible calibrated microphone. Then you can track the effects your changes make... toe in, symmetrical placement vs asymmetrical, standoff distance, distance between speakers, distance to LP, etc.
As @Pogre suggested, this was a very fulfilling pursuit to me, and I still have a significant path ahead to travel down... though I'm pretty good where I'm at right now.

 

[PENG]

The 1028 Be is an easy load, it has some impedance dips but overall it is an easy load for the A-S801 unless you sit far away and listen loud. The Mc, even the 352 or 1kW won't change anything other than what's in your wallet. As mentioned, you may benefit from EQ if you prefer accuracy/neutrality that the 1028 is very capable of achieving if you can minimize room related issues.

 

[lovinthehd]

Sounds like rabbit hole time. Your electronics sound fine. If something's lacking perhaps you should look at different speakers....or as was mentioned pay more attention to the room they're in....or just splurge on a bunch of content to enjoy your system with. Or....

 

[snakeeyes]

Rabbit hole....

I know just the thing... Subwoofers!

 

[Truthslayer]

I currently drive a pair of Focal 1028be speakers with a Yamaha a-s801 integrated amp. My turntable is the Rega P6 with the Exact II MM cartridge. My CD player is the Marantz 6006. I'm wondering if I should upgrade my amp. I'm looking at the McIntosh MA252 or, if I save enough money, the MA352. Others that I'm considering are the PS Audio Stellar Stack and their phono preamp, the Luxman 505 MkII or 507Mk II, and the Parasound Hint 6. Am I crazy? Am I just going down a rabbit hole? The Yamaha, MA252, and the Luxman 505 are rated at 100 watts/channel. The 507 at 110, the Parasound at 160, the 352 at 200, and the PS audio at 350 (mono block set). The Yamaha does sound good, but maybe I'm not a good listener? My room is odd shaped, like the Key on ZZ top video! I sit around 7 feet from the speakers and listen to classic rock and jazz at low to medium levels. The ceiling is 8 foot. Should I just "chill" or would I really benefit sonically to one of the other amps? If so, what would you suggest? I'm driving myself crazy here!

You say, " the Yamaha sounds good, but maybe your not a good listener". Well I believe the number one goal for our audio systems, is that it sounds good to us (yourself). As long as it sounds good to you, don't be concerned whether it may or may not sound good to someone else.

 

[mtrycrafts]

.... Should I just "chill" ...

Yes.

 

[Pogre]

Yup... the free upgrade is where I would start. Speaker positioning, and better understanding of room acoustics. If you've really got the bug... learn how to use REW with a good quality, compatible calibrated microphone. Then you can track the effects your changes make... toe in, symmetrical placement vs asymmetrical, standoff distance, distance between speakers, distance to LP, etc.
As @Pogre suggested, this was a very fulfilling pursuit to me, and I still have a significant path ahead to travel down... though I'm pretty good where I'm at right now.

Yes, rewarding. That's a great point. You learn, you implement and there are tangible results. I agree, it can be very rewarding on a couple of levels. It can help scratch that itch too.

 

[Mikado463]

all good advice here !

one other thought, do you have friends in this crazy hobby of ours ? if so have you compared set ups ? exchanged thoughts and ideas as to areas of deficiency ?

Again, minor and subtle changes can yield very pleasing results, but in the end it's your ears and your $$

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

You say, " the Yamaha sounds good, but maybe your not a good listener". Well I believe the number one goal for our audio systems, is that it sounds good to us (yourself). As long as it sounds good to you, don't be concerned whether it may or may not sound good to someone else.

You beat me to it. I was going to say that the ONLY listener that matters is the person buying.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

If you have too much money burning a hole through your pocket, then go for it.

If it makes you happy, it can’t be that bad.

If you’re like most of us, then hells no.

 

[Bob257]

Thanks for all the input! I guess I'll chill for a while. Maybe I'll change in the future, but if I most likely won't hear much difference, I'll spend the money somewhere else of save it!

 

[jefferson6599]

Hate to bump an old thread, but this is some of the worst advice I have ever read. LOL. I came across this thread as I am trying to decide between a Luxman L-505UXll and McIntosh MA252.

Isn't this hobby all about chasing that perfect sound? Well, at least the best sound we can afford. Unless you are being fiscally irresponsible, then yes, you need to save your money. BUT, if you are in a good position to make the purchase than go for it.

I once told one of my fishing buddies that I don't think I need any more rods or reels, I have 22 combos for bass fishing, what I would consider mid ($400) to upper level ($1,000) setups. His response to me, "you aren't thinking hard enough". We all need friends like that in our lives.

And now that its been a few years, any updates on your system?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Hate to bump an old thread, but this is some of the worst advice I have ever read. LOL. I came across this thread as I am trying to decide between a Luxman L-505UXll and McIntosh MA252.

Isn't this hobby all about chasing that perfect sound? Well, at least the best sound we can afford. Unless you are being fiscally irresponsible, then yes, you need to save your money. BUT, if you are in a good position to make the purchase than go for it.

I once told one of my fishing buddies that I don't think I need any more rods or reels, I have 22 combos for bass fishing, what I would consider mid ($400) to upper level ($1,000) setups. His response to me, "you aren't thinking hard enough". We all need friends like that in our lives.

And now that its been a few years, any updates on your system?

If you’re loaded/stinking rich, then spend away. That’s exactly what we’ve been saying.

You don’t have to justify your spending so you can sleep better at night by telling yourself that the Luxman or McIntosh sounds so much better and worth every penny. If you have the money, go for it.

Some of us have the money and spending the money on five houses sounds so much better to us; we don’t have to justify our spending so we can sleep better at night.

Now if I were buying, I would take the $6K McIntosh MA5300 or $8K Yamaha A-S3200.