Upgrade prioritization

[edorr]

I have three upgrade projects under consideration (ranked cheapest to most expensive - but all in the same $3-5K ballpark):

CAPS 2.0 to CAPS 3.0 + Red Wine Audio powersupply and Jplay upgrade
Ad 3 x shunyata phyton zitron Powercord (replacing synergistic hologram D) and 2 x Mojo audio XPC-7
8 x stillpoint ultra 5 under my speakers (Evolution Acoustics MM3)

How would you sequence this? What would give me the most bang for the buck? I can't do all three at the same time, but say one of the three each 4 - 6 weeks.

 

[caesar]

I have three upgrade projects under consideration (ranked cheapest to most expensive - but all in the same $3-5K ballpark):

CAPS 2.0 to CAPS 3.0 + Red Wine Audio powersupply and Jplay upgrade
Ad 3 x shunyata phyton zitron Powercord (replacing synergistic hologram D) and 2 x Mojo audio XPC-7
8 x stillpoint ultra 5 under my speakers (Evolution Acoustics MM3)

How would you sequence this? What would give me the most bang for the buck? I can't do all three at the same time, but say one of the three each 4 - 6 weeks.

#2, #3, #1, just based on intuition. YMMV. The only thing I can suggest objectively is make sure you take your time moving from one upgrade to another. Savor the goodness. Move from one upgrade to the next only after you get used to the sound and no longer get extra pleasure/ benefits from it.

 

[LL21]

I have three upgrade projects under consideration (ranked cheapest to most expensive - but all in the same $3-5K ballpark):

CAPS 2.0 to CAPS 3.0 + Red Wine Audio powersupply and Jplay upgrade
Ad 3 x shunyata phyton zitron Powercord (replacing synergistic hologram D) and 2 x Mojo audio XPC-7
8 x stillpoint ultra 5 under my speakers (Evolution Acoustics MM3)

How would you sequence this? What would give me the most bang for the buck? I can't do all three at the same time, but say one of the three each 4 - 6 weeks.

I am going to ask what, if anything, would you like your current system to do better? That might help point us in the right direction as to opinions.

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

$3-5K each...so $12-15K in total? Damn! That's some serious spending! Nice!

 

[rockitman]

My money is on the stillpoints over power cords for most improvement depending on what type of floor the speakers sit on, carpeted or not....

 

[Andre Marc]

I have three upgrade projects under consideration (ranked cheapest to most expensive - but all in the same $3-5K ballpark):

CAPS 2.0 to CAPS 3.0 + Red Wine Audio powersupply and Jplay upgrade
Ad 3 x shunyata phyton zitron Powercord (replacing synergistic hologram D) and 2 x Mojo audio XPC-7
8 x stillpoint ultra 5 under my speakers (Evolution Acoustics MM3)

How would you sequence this? What would give me the most bang for the buck? I can't do all three at the same time, but say one of the three each 4 - 6 weeks.

I would go with the option 1 first.

BTW, the Mojo Audio cords are really good.

 

[edorr]

I am going to ask what, if anything, would you like your current system to do better? That might help point us in the right direction as to opinions.

I don't have a good reference, but I think imaging, dynamics and timbre of my system are pretty good, but I could do better creating a "deeper" soundstage. I.e getting the sound a little further behind the speaker.

 

[edorr]

$3-5K each...so $12-15K in total? Damn! That's some serious spending! Nice!

Some of our esteemed forum members report spending that kind of dough on stillpooints alone....

 

[edorr]

I would go with the option 1 first.

BTW, the Mojo Audio cords are really good.

The impact of the power cords is really a function of how good my current cords are, which I don't really know. I have had excellent experience with shunyata power cords though.

 

[edorr]

My money is on the stillpoints over power cords for most improvement depending on what type of floor the speakers sit on, carpeted or not....

They are on carpet, but I thought about it and decided to keep scouting Audiogon for a set of used stillpooints to show up and do option 1 or 2 first. I am also tempted to pick up the set of 8 ultra ss currently listed just to play around with under components....

 

[JackD201]

I don't have a good reference, but I think imaging, dynamics and timbre of my system are pretty good, but I could do better creating a "deeper" soundstage. I.e getting the sound a little further behind the speaker.

Looks like you're looking for a signal noise drop. In that case, I would start with the Red Wine Audio battery power supply if it is indeed significantly quieter than your existing power supply. The nest two are a toss up to me but again given the objective, I'd likely try the power cords first.

 

[Andre Marc]

The impact of the power cords is really a function of how good my current cords are, which I don't really know. I have had excellent experience with shunyata power cords though.

You bet. Shunyata PCs are excellent. I was just commenting that I think Mojo has a good product...for a very fair price.

Shunyatas seem to have good synergy with a wide variety of products.

As a side note we assume when we spend more we are "upgrading" or are we moving sideways?

 

[LL21]

I don't have a good reference, but I think imaging, dynamics and timbre of my system are pretty good, but I could do better creating a "deeper" soundstage. I.e getting the sound a little further behind the speaker.

Deeper soundstage...hmmm...speaker placement? What happens if you move the speakers forward slightly? In terms of image solidity, Stillpoints could help that...and i have found that in making images more solid, certain images definitively moved backwards deeper into the soundstage. I have found the same happened when i switched interconnects between source and pre.

 

[Nyal Mellor]

Erm. 5K on power cords. Really?

Have you properly optimized your room acoustics? Does your room meet all the standards in the white paper?

 

[edorr]

Erm. 5K on power cords. Really?

While $5K seems like a lot of cash to plunk down for a few PCs, if you consider cash in the bank is collecting <1% a year, and $5K worth of cables bought at the right price can be resold within a year with no loss, and within 3 years with $500-$1000 loss, it is not nearly as bad.

Have you properly optimized your room acoustics? Does your room meet all the standards in the white paper?

Probably not, although my room has some decent treatment and measures pretty well. However, I am very time constrained and simply do not have the time and patience to do it. Also, all improvements are incremental. If I get better sound with better PCs, stillpoints or a powersupply for my server, why miss out on it just because more improvements can be achieved with room treatment.

 

[Steve Williams]

While $5K seems like a lot of cash to plunk down for a few PCs, if you consider cash in the bank is collecting <1% a year, and $5K worth of cables bought at the right price can be resold within a year with no loss, and within 3 years with $500-$1000 loss, it is not nearly as bad.

I love the way we rationalize spending on stereo gear

 

[rockitman]

I love the way we rationalize spending on stereo gear

I use the fear of death. I'm alive today, maybe not tomorrow. Enjoy it while you still can....

 

[edorr]

I use the fear of death. I'm alive today, maybe not tomorrow. Enjoy it while you still can....

I do exactly the same. I calculated my expected remaining hours on earth I will be listening to music is around 20,000. I could also drop dead tomorrow. I simply cannot afford NOT to listen to the best system I can afford.

 

[rbbert]

I do exactly the same. I calculated my expected remaining hours on earth I will be listening to music is around 20,000. I could also drop dead tomorrow. I simply cannot afford NOT to listen to the best system I can afford.

Which philosophy would indicate (to me) that it's time to spend time and money on room acoustics before power cords Furthermore, that's almost certainly the best way to get more image depth.

 

[edorr]

Which philosophy would indicate (to me) that it's time to spend time and money on room acoustics before power cords Furthermore, that's almost certainly the best way to get more image depth.

Not necessarily. Room optimization is a very time consuming process, which is all debited to my "remaining hours I can listen to music" account. The net present value of these hours is also very high because it is an upfront investment. It makes sense to do the least time consuming (i.e. buy cables) stuff first, and wait with the time consuming stuff until I have more time (i.e. in retirement or unemployment, whichever comes first).