[mcbiff]

What do you guys think I should get for my next upgrade? Or rather, what is holding me back the most at the moment? Which one replacement would give me the biggest change? Things I'm considering include:

- A Dac (ART DI/O, MSB Link, MF X24K etc.)
- A new amp (Grado, Corda etc.)
- A new CDP (?)
- Interconnects (?)

Things I'm not interested in:

- New headphones (The CD3000s are it for me, at least for the forseeable future)

What I want from the upgrade:

- Detail
- Soundstage
- Air
- Transparency

Any suggestions welcome. Thanks in advance.

 

[raymondlin]

I think the Marantz CD6000OSE is a good player but changing the DAC to the X24K would bring it close to the X-RAY territory. Your i/c is very good already so the sound won't change much for the same amount of money you can spend else where.

 

[dhwilkin]

Hmm, tough one, mainly because upgrading the source or amp will probably make the other one the weakest link. My cop-out vote is do both!

My more reasonable vote is to get a DAC, preferably the Art DI/O, mainly because I want to see more reviews of the thing!

 

[DanG]

I agree that the Marantz is a great player -- I have one! But I think that the weakest link in your chain is really the amplifier. I'd suggest going for a higher-end amp. How much would you be willing to spend?

 

[MooGoesTheCow]

Lookin at yer profile, it seems if you went for a better amp, you'd probably be spending 600+ to get a significant step up from the creek. A headmaster or a used max if you want solid state.

I don't know anything about your marantz, but imo, the source is the most important component in an audio system (if there is such a thing as "most important"). That's where the music originates from, so if you screw that up, you screw up the rest of the system, regardless of how good it is. If you don't want to spend an arm and a let, it seems as though the sony sacd players (333, 777, etc) are getting good reviews. Of course, I'm partial to my meridian, and wouldn't trade mine in for even a sony SCD-1...well....maybe

Since meridians are super easy to find on the used market, you don't have any excuse!

Don't upgrade the cables...it won't make nearly as much of a difference as either an amp upgrade or cdp.

moo!

 

[MacDEF]

Looks like a worthwhile upgrade is going to cost you $500 - $600. I'd have to say the amp or the CD player would be my upgrade choice.

The Creek is a pretty good entry-level amp, but you can do much better with a HeadMaster, used Home, MO Home, or Max.

The Marantz is a very good unit, but the Sony 333ES should be a nice step up for around $550.

 

[jerikl]

Ehhh, you don't need to upgrade. Buy some CD's

 

[Paul Laurens]

Jerikl is right on the money with this one. Stop fiddling with the hardware man!

 

[mcbiff]

Thank you everyone for the tips. I guess I'll go for a source or amp upgrade. What should I be looking at that's not too expensive? What amps are the best for the CD3000s? Is the MSB DAC (Link II) a significant step up from my Marantz?

 

[markl]

Don't know if you've ever considered tubes, but you might want to check out the berning MicroZOTL. I have the CD3000 and the ZOTL and find them to be a fantastic combo.

The CD3000s are pretty transparent as is. Not sure how you'd improve on transparency. What the ZOTL will do for you (especially with good NOS tubes) is give you a smoooooooth fatigue-free sound that has lots of prsenence and "palpability". It will also highlight the minute differences in tone and timbre between different instruments/voices. It paints with a broad sonic palette.
Detail is above average, but it's not like a Headroom Max in this regard.

markl

 

[acidtripwow]

The Creek amp is definitely the weak link in your setup. I'm with markl on this one. The MicroZotl is a fantastic amp. I think the nice warm sound of tubes would be a good match with the forward sounding CD3000s.

 

[mcbiff]

Zotl, eh? I'll look into that. Any other suggestions for an amp that will match up nicely with the CD3000s?

acidtripwow: If the Creek is the weak link, does that mean that my CDP can be used even after an amp upgrade? Does it still have room for growth that the Creek cannot bring out?

 

[blr]

McBiff.
I used to have a system very close to yours; CD6000 OSE plus OBH11/OBH2 combo and exactly the same interconnects (surprise).
When the time came to upgrade, I felt that the amp was the weakest link. Not that the Creek is a bad amp, but it didn't give me the ultimate transparency with HD600. I changed it to MF X-Can V2 and it brought the improvement I wanted. I haven't heard the Sonys, so I cannot comment on a particular amp to go with them. If they sound forward the X-Can may not be the best choice.
The CDP is a great value for money. IMO, you should invest a lot more in order to hear a significant improvement, say Musical Fidelity A3CD and up. A DAC is always an option since the Marantz has a good transport, but I'm not sure how much improvement a DAC in this price range will bring.
Perhaps the best thing is to borrow one of them (Reference Audio has the MSB, and MF dacs) and evaluate. I'll be interested to hear the comments also.