System/room upgrade

[Recont]

Greetings all,

I am in position to invest some £ into home audio but not sure what would be the next best step for the money. Looking for some advice from experienced members

Current setup:
-Small, long living room with TV and speakers positioned along the wall with no way to re-position them.
-Sony STR-DN1040
-Monitor Audio Bronze 5
-REL Q201E subwoofer on high level
-LG TV+Chromecast for Tidal -> HDMI ARC to AVR

Upgrades in mind:
-NAD M10 V2 for connectivity, size, features and high hopes for DIRAC. I know it has not been highly rated here but…
-Some 2nd hand sound treatment panels on back wall and bass traps.
-Go for option(s) suggested here.

Looking forward to hearing expert advice.

Kind regards

Alex

 

[DRMLFL]

Hello,
I'm not an expert at all, but I have some experience as hobbyist music producer. Before you invest any money in equipment I highly recommend you to start with the treatment of your acoustics, best to begin with the first reflexions on the side wall and the ceiling. In your case, panels behind the speakers and on the back wall could help. Bass traps are also a good idea but please don't think they will eliminate every room mode or problem you have. And always measure the results before and after to not only hear but also really see the changes the treatment has made. DIRAC or something similar is the best thing you can have, but before it works well you NEED to treat the acoustics and get rid of any flutter echos and comb filtering. This is very important imho, if not THE most important thing to consider in order to achieve good sound. You want an overall RT60 <400 ms I would say to have a really good sound, but I'm talking from a music producer pov. Some find <500 ms enough.
It is a really good idea to get some 2nd hand stuff because you can save some serious money, I did the same a few weeks ago. You can also build your own (I tried this, it worked good but the panels and bass traps don't look so nice and it takes time to build them). After you got a good acoustic you can invest in equipment because only then you can really hear your setup.

Hope this helps. Stay focused!

 

[voodooless]

I would spend the majority of money on speakers, not on a NAD amp. If you want DIRAC, get a Denon AVR for way less money and a lot more features.