I have been lurking for a few weeks, reading many great discussion, but have become totally bewildered, so I finally registered. Hopefully it is not rude of me to just jump right in with a question. Right now, I am upgrading my very tired old system and struggling with the decision about whether to go with an integrated amp vs. replacing individual components. If this doesn't seem like the right forum for my questions, please feel free to let me know.
After many years of tolerating lo-fi smartphone connections and an okay surround system in my TV room. I want to return to some serious listening in my 20 x 15' living room. I recently went ahead and bought a decent streamer that I like very much and now need to start going through my other components (one at a time unfortunately).
Here is what I have:
--Streamer: Bluesound Node 2i
--Preamp: my Dad's old Adcom GFP-555 ii
--Amp: the tape input on a cheap old Sanyo 20 wpc (my high school amp from 1980!)
--Speakers: ADS L570/2 (100 ohms). My son made off with the gear we drove these with in the late 1980s.
Given this setup, I assume amplification/processing should be highest priority right now. The speakers are my favorite part, but they're old and big, so my amp upgrade needs to accommodate possible speaker replacement. Virtually all of my listening is from files stored locally on my network, ranging from dainty baroque suites and big classical symphonies to modern jazz, punk, and hip hop, sometimes at pretty loud volumes. My ears are 57 years old, but good enough that I still dislike heavily reshaped sound and gimmicky speakers. I can also hear the clipping and distortion that's happening with my current setup at moderate volumes. With this in mind, I am considering several options:
1. Buy a Yamaha A-S501, receiving input from my Adcom pre-amp and bypassing the Yamaha's tone controls
2. Buy the Yamaha, but ditch the Adcom pre-amp
3. Buy a power amp based on Hypex NC252MP (class D, >100 wpc @ 8 ohms), feed it from the Adcom, relying on the DAC that's in the Node 2i for now, and start saving for more components (DAC, speakers, pre-amp).
For #1, I assume bypassing the tone controls does not bypass the DAC, which might be preferable to the Node 2i DAC if I can feeding the digital signal directly to the Yamaha. My main reason for considering #3 is that I want the output headroom for good floor speakers. I realize there will be many opinions on these questions, but I'd be grateful if anyone can point out anything obvious in my thinking that doesn't make sense.
Thanks all,
Jason
After many years of tolerating lo-fi smartphone connections and an okay surround system in my TV room. I want to return to some serious listening in my 20 x 15' living room. I recently went ahead and bought a decent streamer that I like very much and now need to start going through my other components (one at a time unfortunately).
Here is what I have:
--Streamer: Bluesound Node 2i
--Preamp: my Dad's old Adcom GFP-555 ii
--Amp: the tape input on a cheap old Sanyo 20 wpc (my high school amp from 1980!)
--Speakers: ADS L570/2 (100 ohms). My son made off with the gear we drove these with in the late 1980s.
Given this setup, I assume amplification/processing should be highest priority right now. The speakers are my favorite part, but they're old and big, so my amp upgrade needs to accommodate possible speaker replacement. Virtually all of my listening is from files stored locally on my network, ranging from dainty baroque suites and big classical symphonies to modern jazz, punk, and hip hop, sometimes at pretty loud volumes. My ears are 57 years old, but good enough that I still dislike heavily reshaped sound and gimmicky speakers. I can also hear the clipping and distortion that's happening with my current setup at moderate volumes. With this in mind, I am considering several options:
1. Buy a Yamaha A-S501, receiving input from my Adcom pre-amp and bypassing the Yamaha's tone controls
2. Buy the Yamaha, but ditch the Adcom pre-amp
3. Buy a power amp based on Hypex NC252MP (class D, >100 wpc @ 8 ohms), feed it from the Adcom, relying on the DAC that's in the Node 2i for now, and start saving for more components (DAC, speakers, pre-amp).
For #1, I assume bypassing the tone controls does not bypass the DAC, which might be preferable to the Node 2i DAC if I can feeding the digital signal directly to the Yamaha. My main reason for considering #3 is that I want the output headroom for good floor speakers. I realize there will be many opinions on these questions, but I'd be grateful if anyone can point out anything obvious in my thinking that doesn't make sense.
Thanks all,
Jason