I have a Stellar Strata and Aspen FR5’s and planning on the below in the future when I have the extra money to do so…
• Stellar Power Plant 3
• Stellar Phono Preamplifier - replacing a Schiit Audio Mani
• Acoustic room treatment (from GIK Acoustics)
What would you do first?
I highly recommend room treatment.
+1
That’s a great question and one that’s always difficult to properly address because it’s difficult to know which needs the most immediate attention. On the one hand, if you’re committed to building a great system and taking your time, I would start at the foundation and get the Power Plant and work my way up.
The reason I put it this way is that the biggest immediate bang for the buck is likely going to come from upgrading your phono stage as the Stellar phono is startlingly better than the Schiit. And room treatment is even more fundamental but without knowing if you paid attention to room setup (as opposed to treatment) it’s near impossible to guess from a forum post what to do.
I would also advocate grabbing a copy of my setup book if you get a chance.
So, foundation first, then phono preamp for a real thrill.
Start with first and second reflection points on side walls.
I also recommend you buy “Get Better Sound” by Jim Smith. I can’t recommend this informative resource enough.
Have fun.
I think what I’m going to do is keep an eye on the refurbished section and go with whatever I see is available first.
That works as well. Let us know the results!
And when/if you get to treating the room I’d suggest understanding the problems you have to solve before throwing a bunch of treatments at it.
With room treatment I’d start with the bass and then do the rest. Adding absorption will drastically soak up frequencies above 150hz so do it a little at a time unless you’ve got EQ capability.
Also, related to room treatment and understanding the problems with your room, I highly recommend getting a USB microphone and downloading REW (Room EQ Wizard) or equivalent analysis software. This gives you a very clear picture of aspects like frequency response and RT60 (reverberation time) that will inform your treatment approach.
As mentioned above ideally you’ll also have some means to alter your systems response via EQ.
Build some DIY bass traps. Not all that diffuclt, or expensive. Then treat side wall reflections with fabric wrapped OWENS CORNING 703 rigid fiberglass 4’x2’ panels.