Hi all,
With PS Audio’s new partnership with Audio Quest, I am thinking to make an upgrade for my Sprout100.
But my question is, where will I get the most bang for my buck. Right now, I am feeding Elac Debut 6.2 speakers hooked up via 12 AWG Sewell Silverback Speaker cables.
So, only wanting to make one upgrade at time, which would you choose first? Speaker or power cables.
Thanks all!
Speakers
PS Audio bundles Elac speakers and Emotiva speaker cables together with the Sprout. The Emotiva and Sewell cables are very similar. I have purchased both to set up systems for others.
Your biggest bang for the buck in this system might well be the speaker cables. I would think the power cable secondary.
If you do this upgrade, please report back. I would love to know if you hear a difference in this scenario.
Don’t take this as sarcasm at all. I’ve had a Sprout100, and it’s great. But I don’t know that i’d consider it revealing enough to warrant $284 speaker cables. (For me, anyway… YMMV!)
Go visit the Blue Jeans Cable site. Good products for all price points.
Thanks. Actually any advice is good here. My experience at this point is limited, so that is one question in my head too. Will I hear a difference?
I upgraded to the ElacS over Last Black Friday and have been very happy. Of course, I want to see how I can improve the sound and was really thinking to wait for the arrival of the Sprout speakers or even move to the Elac DBR62s…and then there was the announcement of the AQ cable line so wanted to see what others thought.
I so love these forums for knowledge sharing’
My son just purchased some Rocket 33 speaker cables and immediately noticed a difference over his 16 gauge Monster speaker wire. He has a Denon receiver and Mirage OM-5 speakers. Does the 30 day trial apply to cables as well?
I struggled with this one as well. My first inclination was to spend the money (and then some) on better speakers. Elac speakers are good but can be bettered. But then, once better speakers, he’d need cables. So I suggested the lesser alternative. I too am
curious what the results will be. Fortunately, we take returns if unsatisfied, so worth a shot.
I found the Sprout very revealing of speaker cables. But that is dependent on the speaker.
Thanks to everyone for their input. This has made me think even more. Though I have made some great leaps in my home system, I think I’m back to my original plan: save my duckets and wait for those Sprout speakers.
My upgrade plan. Sprout speakers > speaker cables. Strata 
An update on my odyssey.
After Paul’s comment about the Elac Debut 6.2s, I decided (after reading many reviews and a thumb’s up from @Subito), to upgrade to the Elac Uni-Fi UB52 bookshelf speakers. And what an upgrade!
Immediately out of the box, the sound was louder with much more clarity. As the speakers burned in, I started to get more of a sense of the individual instruments and more pinpoint imaging. The bass was tighter and had more definition (though the drivers are smaller than the 6.2s). But, there has been something deeper going on as the speakers keep maturing in my setup. The only thing I can think of is presence. I feel more of a presence of the recording in the room. And, something Arnie Nudell mentions in his videos but I just never got: the emotion of the players. I can sense that now, as crazy as that sounds. I can sense the excitement of the performances of these recordings (I listen to A LOT of classical).
I am very happy with this upgrade. Next: going for the speaker cables. I have a set of Sewell Silverbacks now. Under considerations: Blue Jeans BJC 10 whites, the SPROUT AudioQuest Q2, and something that has come on to my radar recently with rave reviews, the Audio Art Cables EC-5 Speaker cables. I welcome your opinions; helps very much with all the decision making. 
Hi @gfuhrer, this my first post, so I hope I haven’t hijacked this thread. I was looking to get the exact same set up (Sprout 100, ELAC Uni-Fi UB52, Sewell Silverback cables). I live in Australia and it’s difficult to hear this system together and I don’t have the option to trial them. It great to hear your positive impressions with classical music. How do you find it with other genres (rock, acoustic) etc?
I must say, I like this setup with anything I listen to. I listen to a lot of genres of music, but I will try to get specific to see if it helps to answer your questions. I am listening to a Haydn cello concerto right now and the richness of the cello is just wonderful
Listening to DOS (dos y dos), the bass extension is just amazing as well as the details of the strumming of the strings and such. When Kira sings, she is in the room with me.
One thing I LOVE about this setup is, when I am not in the room, I get the full illusion that the singer is in the room where the speakers are. That was one of my goals of this system.
Elvis Costello - Painted By Memory…there is a detail to his voice I have never heard before. And just the presence of the entire band/orchestra.
Bebe - Pafuera Telarañas - same thing here. There are details to what the band is doing that just stand out for me as I had not heard on the DB62s or even my older Paradigm Studio 20s.
I love talking about this stuff, so ask any questions that come to mind @mcnoodle Happy to try to answer them here.
Welcome, @mcnoodle !
Thanks for the reply @gfuhrer . My other systems have been built around home theatre (Denon A/V Receiver, B&W Speakers), so I’m looking for a good 2-channel system for my bedroom - away from the kids where I can listen to what I want.
I was thinking of going down the headphone path but realise I much prefer listening to speakers!
I’ve never owned any PS Audio products but have read and watched many positive reviews on the Sprout 100. Similarly, I’ve seen positive reviews on the Elac Uni-Fi UB52, but couldn’t find much feedback on how they sound together - so I really appreciate your feedback. As I mentioned before, it’s almost impossible to trial this in my own home and even just trying to audition it in a store can be a challenge.
Unfortunately, hifi can be a little overpriced in Australia (the Sprout100 is almost USD$1000), so if I want to go down this path, it looks like I’ll be ordering online.
Thanks again and I look forward to your future posts to see where you upgrade next!
My 2nd system is my Sprout100 with Martin Logan 35XT’s and a ML sub. I use Blue Jeans 12 white speaker cables (12 AWG). The Sprout is definitely up to the detail and revealing enough for higher end speakers.
Well…my latest update. And in case anyone really wants to know if speaker cables will make a difference to a Sprout based system. I can answer that question: YES!
After upgrading to the Elac Uni-Fi 2.0 UB52 bookshelf speakers, the quality of my sound made a big leap. I will admit though, connected via a set of Sewell Silverbacks, I would hear a harshness to the top end. I thought that was attributed to turning up volume too much and pushing the Sprout too hard.
I then made the move to the Blue Jeans BJC 10 white speaker cables. And things changed. The top smoothed out very nicely. The bass, already feeling quite solid to me improved. The mid range also filled out. I can really push the volume now and there is no harshness. Just really amazing sound.
I have been playing around with speaker placement (I admit, I have an awkward space to work with) and the soundstage depth is really amazing. I swear, the front wall (or back wall as @Paul refers to it) is disappearing for me with good recordings.
I want to thank all the members of this forum. Reading all these posts is most educational. I have come such a long way from that first day I unpacked my Sprout from its box.
Next: going to work with Paul’s new book and CD to further tune my speaker placement.
Good to hear things are working well for you. The Sprout is a gem. One thing not covered, and forgive me if I missed it, was your source. I know there are some people that run the Sprout through bluetooth, as I did when I first got it, and boy after ditching BT and horrible MP3 and the like files, the Sprout really bloomed. I go PC/Qobuz/audirvana to my Sprout via USB and the difference between that and BT is night and day.
Well, @stonefree1911, I am a CD man. I feed my Sprout mainly via a Cambridge Audio CXC. A very nice low priced option. It does a really amazing job.
But I am like you. Fascinated by the idea of BT and the fun of just pointing my iPhone at my Sprout to play music, I experimented with that idea, but found the sound quality to be too lacking (surprisingly good though!). The sound image was a bit too flat compared to what I get via CD. I now connect my iPhone directly in to the USB port and find that to work much better. I listen to a live concerts via the Live Music Archive and am really impressed by the quality I get in that USB connected setup.
I have been playing with the idea of hooking up my restored Nakamichi 581Z. Someday…
I have also been playing with Amazon Music HD via the free trial, again through my iPhone/USB setup and am impressed by the quality. Just not sure of the $12.99/month enough of impressed. The sound quality I am getting from the CDs still really really surprises me. Case in point: I just bought the 2009 version of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and on one track (can’t remember which one at the moment) John Lennon was standing in the corner of the room. The effect was amazing. He was there. I haven’t gotten that off of Amazon Music HD yet.
On an endnote, the Elac UB52s have really helped me reach a stage of audio Nirvana. I am less leaning towards the Strata then I was before (that was going to be a 60th birthday present to myself). But…still waiting to see what PS Audio cooks up with those Sprout speakers. Waiting patiently for that @Chris_Brunhaver