£500

Yes please.

Hi

I listen to my music (mainly spotify premium and itunes) through my dell laptop, cambridge audio a1 amp (connected via rca lead) and eltax monitor III speakers.

How would you improve SQ for £500? Get rid and start again or maybe add a dac?

Cheers

Paul

Buy a Marantz M-CR603 for £389 (seems to be a widespread 'special offer' price in a lot of places right now*. It's normally £479).

Your iTunes can be played via AirPlay to the Marantz from your computer (or iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch).

If you have an iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch, then you can use the Spotify App (if you are a premium user) and that will use AirPlay too.  (Plus BBC iPlayer Radio and zillions of internet radio stations using something like the 69p TuneIn Radio Pro app.)

It has a optical digital input for your TV/Blu-ray/PVR.

Built in FM/DAB and built-in CD player and a couple of spare RCA analogue inputs.

*The price was cut by a similar amount this time last year - for a while - then went back up to £479. So don't hang around because it might go back up again in the new year.

I've left you £111 from your budget and that should go a long way to better speakers like the Q Acoustics 2010i. (Actually £112.50 in Richer Sounds right now.)

[EDIT] Oops! I've saved you some more money.  Get a 'bundle' like this for £479...

http://www.richersounds.com/package/system-savers/mini-hifi-systems/pah01434

...or spend the whole £500 and get even better speakers...

http://www.richersounds.com/package/system-savers/mini-hifi-systems/pah01217

Hi Chebby, thanks for taking the time to reply, I very much appreciate it. I'll check out the Marantz, it looks very promising!

A pair of used BM5As and a Roland UA-25EX.

Should come in around the £500 mark and you'll be hard pressed to better it. Hard to find though, so you'll need some patience.

Onkyo TX-8050, networked stereo receiver, four digital inputs, internet radio, Spotify enabled, AM/FM tuner, phono stage, onboard 48/96 DAC, headphone socket, multiple inputs for TV/DVD/Subwoofer/additional power amp, 100wpc at 8ohms, and here's the spec sheet:-

http://www.uk.onkyo.com/en/products/tx-8050-43158.html

Get a pair of Mission 751s for about £100, or some other boxes for up to your budget and you'll be flying.  Fantastic little amp.  

the marantz cr603 is a very good sounding unit and goes loud wont do better for that kind of money.