jgiannakas
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- Joined
- Jun 22, 2021
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Over the past couple of months I've got the "upgrade itch". My current system is as below and it's stayed pretty much static for the past 3 years, ever since getting the R300's as an upgrade to the Dali's.
1. KEF R300 fronts and Dali Zensor 1 for surrounds
2. Denon X2300W acting as my AV receiver and amp
3. Dali E9F sub
4. Apple TV as the source for music (apple lossless) and movies
Overall the system is used mostly for movies with the occasional music at moderate levels as I live in a flat. Used to listen to music a lot more but since moving to this (smaller) place with thinner walls I've reduced my listening time a lot and mostly in the car now
To-date, each one of my upgrades so far have given a significant upgrade to the system's sound - I started with the Dali Zensor 1's as stereo speakers, which were OK, then added the Dali sub a year later and that improved the sound quality quite a bit, then added the X2300W to get Audyssey and that helped massively with the sub integration. Finally got the R300's and WOW was that an upgrade compared to the Dali's that are now spending time as surround speakers.
Right now, system wise, I am pretty pleased with its performance. It does what I want it to do, movies are exceptional, music is very good, detailed and airy.
But we all have that itch So if you had £1000 to spend to make this system meaningfully better what would you do? For context, the living room is about 16 square meters, so not massive (4mx4m).
I was thinking to go with one of the following upgrades:
1. Upgrade the R300's to the R3's or the LS50 meta's. I'd get a bit more clarity in the upper frequencies and a bit more neutral sound reproduction, as the R300's are a tad bit laid back. Don't get me wrong, the R300's are brilliant, super detailed, easy to listen to, they don't get in the way of the music or movies and in general they do whatever I ask them to do, but I've got a feeling that the R3's or LS50's may be a meaningful upgrade.
2. Upgrade the AV receiver to the Denon X3700H and look into getting some external amplifiers at some point down the line. Also will get Audyssey XT32 which would give a better overall room EQ in the low end. I'm using Audyssey XT now with the iPad app to balance out the sub, mains till 200hz and surrounds to the 500hz mark. Power wise I don't think I need any more as I listen to movies and music at most around the 70-75db average mark and I don't think I've ever heard the amp having issues with driving the speakers (i.e. clipping or distorting). Also the speakers sound detailed and airy enough with the amp, so not sure whether they would actually sound any better with the X3700H.
3. Upgrade the sub to a "better" one - I've noticed that the sub doesn't really go that much lower than the main speakers (down to 35hz or so vs. about 45-50hz for the R300s), so thinking of an SVS 3000 micro. I haven't felt the sub being inadequate during movies, it gives just enough low end to make the movie impactful. While listening to music it performs OK(ish), maybe a little bit better control would be nice which could be down to the room acoustics (hence maybe able to be improved with the XT32) or just the sub not being that great.
What do you recon would give me the most meaningful upgrade as any of the above would cost around the ~£1000 mark and for that I'd like it to be reasonably well spent
1. KEF R300 fronts and Dali Zensor 1 for surrounds
2. Denon X2300W acting as my AV receiver and amp
3. Dali E9F sub
4. Apple TV as the source for music (apple lossless) and movies
Overall the system is used mostly for movies with the occasional music at moderate levels as I live in a flat. Used to listen to music a lot more but since moving to this (smaller) place with thinner walls I've reduced my listening time a lot and mostly in the car now
To-date, each one of my upgrades so far have given a significant upgrade to the system's sound - I started with the Dali Zensor 1's as stereo speakers, which were OK, then added the Dali sub a year later and that improved the sound quality quite a bit, then added the X2300W to get Audyssey and that helped massively with the sub integration. Finally got the R300's and WOW was that an upgrade compared to the Dali's that are now spending time as surround speakers.
Right now, system wise, I am pretty pleased with its performance. It does what I want it to do, movies are exceptional, music is very good, detailed and airy.
But we all have that itch
So if you had £1000 to spend to make this system meaningfully better what would you do? For context, the living room is about 16 square meters, so not massive (4mx4m).I was thinking to go with one of the following upgrades:
1. Upgrade the R300's to the R3's or the LS50 meta's. I'd get a bit more clarity in the upper frequencies and a bit more neutral sound reproduction, as the R300's are a tad bit laid back. Don't get me wrong, the R300's are brilliant, super detailed, easy to listen to, they don't get in the way of the music or movies and in general they do whatever I ask them to do, but I've got a feeling that the R3's or LS50's may be a meaningful upgrade.
2. Upgrade the AV receiver to the Denon X3700H and look into getting some external amplifiers at some point down the line. Also will get Audyssey XT32 which would give a better overall room EQ in the low end. I'm using Audyssey XT now with the iPad app to balance out the sub, mains till 200hz and surrounds to the 500hz mark. Power wise I don't think I need any more as I listen to movies and music at most around the 70-75db average mark and I don't think I've ever heard the amp having issues with driving the speakers (i.e. clipping or distorting). Also the speakers sound detailed and airy enough with the amp, so not sure whether they would actually sound any better with the X3700H.
3. Upgrade the sub to a "better" one - I've noticed that the sub doesn't really go that much lower than the main speakers (down to 35hz or so vs. about 45-50hz for the R300s), so thinking of an SVS 3000 micro. I haven't felt the sub being inadequate during movies, it gives just enough low end to make the movie impactful. While listening to music it performs OK(ish), maybe a little bit better control would be nice which could be down to the room acoustics (hence maybe able to be improved with the XT32) or just the sub not being that great.
What do you recon would give me the most meaningful upgrade as any of the above would cost around the ~£1000 mark and for that I'd like it to be reasonably well spent
