Upgrade Advice

[Ovknows]

So i currently have Onkyo NS6130 as my main receiver, Onkyo A-9070 as my Integrated Amp
and Monitor 11 (V7) as floorstanding speakers And room treatment (diy)

I used Tidal before switching to Apple Music and now ordered a Topping D10S to listen lossless
via iPad. I do find the Wolfson DACs sound slightly better compared to AKM4452, however
looking forward to the Topping D10s

My question is what would be the best upgrade if i could only upgrade one thing within my
current setup.

I am tossing between a premium DAC like Topping D90, RME ADI-2 or new Speakers.
Any advice would be great!

 

[atsmusic]

If only one thing, I would think better speakers would make the biggest difference by far.

 

[Doodski]

Speakers for sure is the biggest change. Your Monitor 11 V7 speakers have a fairly good efficiency and so you might want to keep an eyeball on that so you don't get into a amp/speaker efficiency rat race.

 

[Ovknows]

So what would be a better speaker compared to what i have now. Max budget say 2500 USD

Eventually i would like to upgrade the whole system, one item a year perhaps.

 

[Frgirard]

So i currently have Onkyo NS6130 as my main receiver, Onkyo A-9070 as my Integrated Amp
and Monitor 11 (V7) as floorstanding speakers And room treatment (diy)

I used Tidal before switching to Apple Music and now ordered a Topping D10S to listen lossless
via iPad. I do find the Wolfson DACs sound slightly better compared to AKM4452, however
looking forward to the Topping D10s

My question is what would be the best upgrade if i could only upgrade one thing within my
current setup.

I am tossing between a premium DAC like Topping D90, RME ADI-2 or new Speakers.
Any advice would be great!

Speakers speakers and speakers

 

[Ovknows]

Speakers speakers and speakers

Any recommendations?

 

[Jim Matthews]

There's a new category : "I just joined, fix my system for XX money."

My recommendation would be to use the search function on your favorite site. It's an amazing resource, filled with prior responses to the same question.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?forums/audio-newbie-beginner-technical-forum.46/

 

[charleski]

With a budget of $2500 you should seriously think about upgrading the speakers. Maybe a pair of Genelec 8030cs which gives you around $1k for a subwoofer.

The biggest change (by far) I have encountered came in my system from reconfiguring my system to incorporate DSP. The simplest way to do this would be to get the RME DAC, with its 5-band EQ. A more complex (but more flexible) solution would be to swap your iPad for an old MacBook (my choice would be the 2012 model, which goes for around £200 on eBay, but has more than enough power for DSP) and get SoundSource which will allow you to route all the audio out through your DSP of choice, either the built-in EQ, or a more capable EQ plugin like FabFilter Q-3, or scale up to convolution with products like HangLoose Convolver or Dirac Live.

 

[Ovknows]

There's a new category : "I just joined, fix my system for XX money."

My recommendation would be to use the search function on your favorite site. It's an amazing resource, filled with prior responses to the same question.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?forums/audio-newbie-beginner-technical-forum.46/

Thanks mate, spent a considerable amount of time researching/searching. Not many have the similar equipment to what i have if at all, hence having to ask.

 

[Ovknows]

Genelec 8030cs

I wouldn’t mind getting these for my recording studio monitor. However, ideally would be nice to have floorstanding for listening. I find it too difficult to work out bookshelf+sub setup

 

[MaxBuck]

I wouldn’t mind getting these for my recording studio monitor. However, ideally would be nice to have floorstanding for listening. I find it too difficult to work out bookshelf+sub setup

Understanding that I'm a bit of a KEF fanboi, I'd recommend auditioning their Q-series floorstanders to see if you like their sound signature. And honestly, I'd also want to listen to the latest products from Polk Audio. Ultimately it will be an upgrade if and only if you like the sound better.