A rookie with 10K, seeking advise


I'm new to the HiFi world. I listen to a lot of female vocal and classical music. I like both digital and vinyl. I am using a pair of Wharfedale Linton heritage and PS Audio Stellar Strata. 

I know this is too broad a question, but with 10K budget, where can I wisely spend my money? I don't mind tubes and I don't mind used either.

Any advise is greatly appreciated!

llid2

Tubes will always get my hearty recommendation. You didn't mention your analog front end or your phono preamp. Personally, I'm not a fan of all-in-one solutions like your PS Audio unit, but I understand if convenience and space is an issue. More details please.

I agree with the above comment. Also, as you mentioned, this is way to broad of a question in order to get any sort of valuable feedback. 

Thank you for your comments! Please bear with me. As a rookie, I don't even know much about what kind of details I need to provide.

I have a rega planar 3 with ortofon 2m black, connected to a PS Audio phono amp. A friend gave me a Denafrips terminator I DAC to use. (I guess that's the origin of my problems, as I have two XLR inputs now.)

Room size is not small, I can use a pair of floorstanding speakers. I foresee myself upgrading a few things as budget allows in the next 3-5 years. Not sure if you need more details.

I guess my biggest question is I'm not sure which upgrade I should begin with. I feel like my front ends are already too good for my amp and speakers. If I begin with speakers, I'm not sure if the ps audio amp is good enough to drive them. If I begin with amp, I don't know if I can hear any difference given the speakers...

Well if you are not opposed to the idea of replacing the Strata, I would take that 10K and upgrade to a better amp/preamp combo. You already have a Terminator, so you don't even need the onboard DAC of the Strata. You might find this alone would give you quite an improvement even with your current speakers. And for sure it will be welcome at such a time as you do replace the Lintons.

Another option, since you have the digital side of things pretty well covered, is to upgrade the Rega and the PS Audio preamp. Honestly I could make a case for either.