Is this change to my equipment worth it?

[Pareto Pragmatic]

I suggest you consider a DAC and Amp with balanced connections, which might or might not add too much to the cost, but will reduce noise. That, with an amp with PFFB, will give you a good solid system.

Speakers, I have replaced the capacitors on 40+ year old speakers. Very easy to hear an improvement in my case. I think that is an easy job, and parts may not be as expensive as products, tax wise.

I also suggest starting with measurements and EQ. But I know that's not everyone's cup of tea.

 

[Talisman]

Take a look at my original post; you’d have to admit that @Talisman reply wouldn't have made much sense if he had quoted my entire post. That sort of thing is highly questionable to me anyway.

Better measured performance virtually never means audible improvements with amplifiers.

I didn't say anything different than you did; I said that noticing improvements with that kind of change is extremely rare, and I certainly wouldn't call it a substantial improvement in sound quality.
For a user who explicitly said he had to carefully consider upgrades due to the exorbitant costs of electronics in Brazil, it seems foolish to me to propose replacing an already fairly competent amplifier for a (at best) marginal, but possibly inaudible, improvement.

 

[Mike123]

I suggest you consider a DAC and Amp with balanced connections, which might or might not add too much to the cost, but will reduce noise.

Balanced connections are no longer very common, and generally inexpensive. Popular modern DAC chips, such as the ES9038Q2M and ES9039KQ2M, feature a circuit design that initially produces a balanced signal in analog. To obtain an unbalanced signal, an additional op amp is required. This means unbalanced connections are more expensive. Modern balanced connectors are also inexpensive and compact. For example, the Topping DX1-II DAC has excellent performance, a built-in room correction, balanced outputs, and costs $120. Amplifiers with balanced inputs are also affordable.

 

[marchetti87]

Another way of looking at this is - what kit, within your budget, is available in Brazil?

The kit mentioned - the Fosi V3 and P4 - is already pushing the limits of my budget here. Everything here is extremely expensive, even equipment considered entry-level and cheap abroad.

I’m the type of guy who likes sitting in front of the PC listening to music at moderate volumes; the Aiyima’s volume knob rarely goes past the 9 o'clock position - except for quieter recordings - but even then, I’ve never needed to go past the halfway mark, as it gets extremely loud. I enjoy genres like heavy metal, classic rock, blues, classical music, electronic music, and New Age, and I’ve never owned a sound system that revealed so many details I’d never heard before. For me, this is incredibly therapeutic.

I tried using a PC equalizer, like Peace EQ, but didn't get good results; I found it better to go without one.

Thanks to everyone's insights here, I’ve concluded that swapping gear just for the sake of appearance isn't worth it. Perhaps in the future, I’ll opt for more expensive equipment with balanced inputs, as I’ve read about here.

Thank you all.

 

[Flaesh]

I tried using a PC equalizer, like Peace EQ, but didn't get good results

W\o mic??

 

[marchetti87]

W\o mic??

I haven't done any measurements with a microphone; I just find using an equalizer unnecessary, given that I already get a powerful, crystal-clear sound without it - especially when using Tidal's WASAPI Exclusive mode. For me, using the Aiyima's tone controls is enough. These 40-year-old speakers are excellent; it makes me wonder what newer speakers must be capable of.

 

[Multicore]

Well then, @marchetti87 , it is my opinion that you have a good amp for those speakers. Given what you wrote yesterday about equipment costs where you are I suggest holding on to your money or, alternatively, thinking something more fun to spend it on than an amp.

 

[Tell]

I haven't done any measurements with a microphone; I just find using an equalizer unnecessary, given that I already get a powerful, crystal-clear sound without it - especially when using Tidal's WASAPI Exclusive mode. For me, using the Aiyima's tone controls is enough. These 40-year-old speakers are excellent; it makes me wonder what newer speakers must be capable of.

You most definitely have room modes where the bass builds up or dips or even nulls, these are very beneficial to equalize but do require a measurement microphone to find properly. Doing this will give you an infinitely bigger sound quality upgrade than swapping amplifier or going Exclusive mode in Tidal

 

[Flaesh]

infinitely bigger sound quality upgrade than swapping

Any arbitrary listener has freedom of choice. I know one audiophiliastic enthusiast who hid his umik1 in a nightstand and seriously worked on the power supply. Then all the room modes and nulls disappeared by themselves (well, that's what he says))).