Hunt for hifi IX: Now what?
Now that the Focal Diablo Utopia speakers #19 and #20 are mine (Focal are numbering every speaker in their Utopia line, and I appear to have gotten my filthy mitts on an early pair), I stand before the daunting task of trying to find a way to afford source and amplification electronics that do them justice.
First of all, I need to figure out where to aim my priorities next.
My current amplifier, while immensely powerful, is not the poster child of resolution and finesse. When I heard the darTZeel pre/power combo drive the Diablo’s big brother Scala Utopia it became very evident that these speakers can convey a lot more than what amplification a tenth of the darTZeel price is able to summon. In fact, my amplifier cost one fiftieth of the darTZeel combo…
Another step back in the signal chain, and we get to my Squeezebox Duet. The user friendliness of this system is of such a magnitude that I honestly don’t know how I put up with shifting CD’s before. A server-based music system is an absolute necessity for me now, and I can’t even imagine going back. However, it’s a rather cheap device. Considering the price of the Receiver, which is the bit that actually plays music, it’s amazing that it sounds as good as it does. The thing includes a wireless receiver & transmitter, wired network card, DAC and unbalanced RCA output stage, all for the price of a parking ticket or around 6-8 CD’s.
While I’m not an adherent of the Source First philosophy, I think my Return On Invest would be greatest if I gave my digital source attention before I move on to amplification. Thus, from here on my hi-fi posts will be about DAC research and other aspects of server-based music systems.
I do have a shitload of vinyl, but I’m ignoring that for now. An upgrade there might come before the digital source though, and when/if the day comes I’ll make sure to give it its due attention.
