Folks I am posting with a request for feedback on a possible configuration change I may make to my main living room listening spot. Throughout my home I have 5 or 6 zones of music available through a mix of wiim streamers, various amps and both in-wall and external (bookshelf) speakers. They are primarily used for “background” listening and syncing for whole house music during gatherings.
My living room though is primarily my (sit & listen) room, where I search for new music and audition new music I may purchase for my library. I also have subscriptions to both Apple music and Tidal and use Roon to consolidate my streaming and large home library of music I’ve collected over the years.
In the living room I have a modest system consisting of Dynaudio Contour legacy floor standers. These are connected to a pair of Outlaw Audio model 2220 monoblocks (200W each). My source is a Wiim Pro Plus which outputs to a benchmark Dac1 which feeds into the Outlaws. Here in the ASR community the Outlaw amps, Wiim streamer/dac and the benchmark equipment are all rated highly by Amir & others.
So here is my question. I purchased the benchmark dac back in 2007. The amps were purchased around 2012. There is nothing “wrong” with the setup. I enjoy it, but I’m wondering with the progression is both dac technology and amplifier tech (ie..hypex, purifi, etc) it may be time to upgrade. I can repurpose the older amps and dac elsewhere in the house.
In its day the benchmark was SOA. I’m considering swapping out my amps to something like a Hypex NCx500 2-Channel from Buckeye, and simply using the dac functionality (AKM IC) of the WiimPro plus direct to the amp. My thought being that’s a significant jump in clean amp power and perhaps the newer dac IC in the wiim will be a step up from the older benchmark technology.
Thoughts? Do you think the newer tech will make a noticeable difference in the sound?
My living room though is primarily my (sit & listen) room, where I search for new music and audition new music I may purchase for my library. I also have subscriptions to both Apple music and Tidal and use Roon to consolidate my streaming and large home library of music I’ve collected over the years.
In the living room I have a modest system consisting of Dynaudio Contour legacy floor standers. These are connected to a pair of Outlaw Audio model 2220 monoblocks (200W each). My source is a Wiim Pro Plus which outputs to a benchmark Dac1 which feeds into the Outlaws. Here in the ASR community the Outlaw amps, Wiim streamer/dac and the benchmark equipment are all rated highly by Amir & others.
So here is my question. I purchased the benchmark dac back in 2007. The amps were purchased around 2012. There is nothing “wrong” with the setup. I enjoy it, but I’m wondering with the progression is both dac technology and amplifier tech (ie..hypex, purifi, etc) it may be time to upgrade. I can repurpose the older amps and dac elsewhere in the house.
In its day the benchmark was SOA. I’m considering swapping out my amps to something like a Hypex NCx500 2-Channel from Buckeye, and simply using the dac functionality (AKM IC) of the WiimPro plus direct to the amp. My thought being that’s a significant jump in clean amp power and perhaps the newer dac IC in the wiim will be a step up from the older benchmark technology.
Thoughts? Do you think the newer tech will make a noticeable difference in the sound?
