New member...
First, I want to say an enormous, humble, and appreciative "thank you" for all of you, especially those involved in providing equipment to test and those testing and posting. I've read much on this site, including certain equipment-test reviews, and it's been a tremendous help for me to avoid falling into the moneypit of marketing lingo and shallow articles meant to drive traffic and sales. Seriously. Thank you.
Next, I have so many questions. I'm a smart guy, and I'll catch on quick. But I've learned only enough to be dangerous on the subject of audio. I've been reading a ton, but I have many questions.
My first request, humbly, is to ask for help in certain areas...
First, I'm satisfied with my current home theater setup - as far as it serves my streaming video needs. I don't even have a 4K TV, and I don't watch much in Atmos, so 5.1 decoding is fine for now. It's got more than enough volume and the bass is good. The front speakers sound nice to my ears playing stereo audio, even. Each is dual 5.25in woofers and a tweeter. And I like the separate sub so it doesn't muddy the mids. The CNET review below gives it rave reviews as a system.
Onkyo HTIB (SKS HT510 / 6.1 100wpc / 150w sub from roughly 2003)
https://www.cnet.com/reviews/onkyo-sks-ht510-review/
https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/onkyo/ht-r510.shtml
However, I'm trying to improve my stereo audio (music) setup.
Source: Amazon Music HD (AMHD) via Kindle Fire RCA out
Source: Audio Technica TT (AT-LP60XBT - stock) via PHONO out
Receiver: mid-late 70's vintage Kenwood KR-4400 (solid state) with Phono, Aux, Tuner
Speakers: pair of bookshelf Bose 2000
Comments:
-I'm 41 years old and my hearing range is about 50hz to 12khz. As far as I know, I have decent hearing, but I sometimes struggle to hear dialogue in crowded real-life scenes and in movies with similar scenes.
-I absolutely adore the tuner in the vintage Kenwood receiver. The sound is a soothing warm ear-bath of electrified liquid gold drizzled down the nipples of Venus and dripped directly into my headholes. I love the warm sound. I don't care if it's not "hi-fi precise." I realize it may technically be distortion/noise. But drums punch, bass vibrates my nethers, and electric guitars make me wanna rub up against something. KSHE 95 inspires me to go impregnate someone and then smoke a lung dart, and i don't even smoke. (and, i suppose, technically, i don't impregnate anymore, either, unless my urologist cut the wrong cord.)
-I know the turntable is decent entry-level and that I could get a lot more from a better quality unit. I have been watching used markets for models I've read are worth buying used - Thorens, Garrard 301/401, Technics SP10 or 1200, Linn, others, but, dang, they are insanely expensive right now. $400 for a nice turntable and cartridge would be more value than my vinyl collection is worth.
-I know the Kindle Fire via RCA-out uses the Fire's onboard DAC which probably leaves something to be desired.
-I know Bose is a lifestyle brand, and not a hi-fi targeted instrument of precision (each to his own).
-The TT, receiver, and speakers were gifts, not conscious choices.
-My "room" is my family room, about 20x13 with 10 ft ceilings. So there's a lot of space and not loaded with absorbent stuff. Plaster. Wool rug, leather couch, velvet chairs, linen curtains.
My goals and Preferences:
-I want to love my other sources as much as I love the tuner in the Kenwood. I want to hear Van Halen and smash a 6-pack of Schlitz. I want to question my very existence during Moonlight Sonata. I want to weep actual tears during the Flower Duet. I want Tchaikovsky's Slavonic March to motivate me to invade my neighbor. I want my jaw to drop at the rip-roaring brassy arpeggios from Lee Morgan's horn. I want to get visibly infuriated listening to Coltrane because everyone thinks he was a genius, but he played a quarter step sharp on everything because he swallowed his mouthpiece too far. It grates my nerves. Nearly unlistenable.
-I want to do it on a budget.
And one piece at a time.
-I think I prefer a warm sound. By "warm" I mean:
*sufficient mid bass underlying immediate, accessible mids at the forefront
*sweet highs, not fatiguing. Listen for hours.
*"air" under the music, stereo soundstage, open tone. Breathy.
*that buzzy, organic, electric sound to Rock music. What I love about the Kenwood tuner is the sound reminds me of the "flange" distortion pedal from my guitar days (not so blatant, though, more subtle). The opposite of clean and sterile. A little wavy. Alive. I realize this is a form of distortion/noise. Maybe that makes me not an "audiofile." I don't care. Not into labels. I like what I like. I imagine I'd really like a tube sound, although I can't say I've heard a good example in person.
Questions:
-The overarching question is - where do i invest to improve? Then there are several sub-questions along that track...
-Should I maintain separate music vs theater systems? Or...am I better off investing into things that serve both purposes / merging the two systems into one? Like, replacing my front HTIB speakers with quality floor standers. (Then do i need to replace the receiver? how do i then balance the rest of the theater speakers so the system isn't overwhelmed by the big fronts?) I have a feeling keeping them separate might be less complicated and prevent a daisy-chain of necessary changes (and expenses), and that way I can target specific components more easily without worrying about the effects on the other usage.
-I've read several posts on this and other (not-so) similar forums advising to invest in the weakest link. How do I know what the weakest link is? I don't visit sound rooms, and I don't have friends who tinker or prioritize their audio experience. I don't know a single friend who has a dedicated listening space.
-What's my weakest link? The Bose speakers? The lack of a quality DAC? The basic TT? Will I even hear a better DAC or a better turntable through these lower end Bose bookshelfers? Will I hear ANY difference in the large-space, wood floor, plaster room I've got? Am I too old for it to matter now?
-If I wanted to incorporate the tube sound, I'd definitely want it to accommodate the TT. So, a phono tube pre-amp, perhaps? I'd like a USB DAC, too, to improve the AMHD. Is there a unit that has all of that in one? Tube-based Phono stage with USB DAC (that I could run the Kindle Fire through via an OTG cable?) If so, does the unit run the USB-in signal through the tubes before exporting via RCA out? Or does it hit just the DAC chip and skip the tubes?
My alternative inclination is to buy something like the Denon avr-s750h, which is a 7.2 channel receiver with Denon HEOS streaming built-in that works with Alexa/AMHD. Then my Fire/AMHD would be DAC'd by the internal chip in that unit. It also has a phono stage. The downside is, I wouldn't get tubes, and I'd have to find another setup or different unit to get that Kenwood tuner sound. (The Kenwood doesn't have an RCA out, unless there's some magic i don't know about, maybe with the Tape ports or something? I don't know. )
The upsdie is, it would consolidate some things and integrate into my voice activated smart-room setup. It would get me ready for when Atmos becomes more mainstream in Netflix/Vudu, etc. It would improve the digital streaming signal from max of 24bit/48 to 24/196. Does that even matter?
Another problem is that everything kind of cool and vintage seems to be TOP dollar, and I don't want to end up sleeping on the couch.
Please don't make me sleep on the couch. My future is in your hands.
Thanks in advance!