Equal $$ for Phono OR Streaming?


Consider the following situation. A friend who's watched me put together my system has decided to follow suit. He's inherited some very good speakers and amplification (no DAC) from a relative and has about wants to finish out the main elements of the system with the best possible source. He has about $4-6k to spend and wishes to spend it on either a phono stage/TT combo OR a DAC/streamer combo. (For content, he is willing to spend either on vinyl or streaming services to fulfill whichever path he chooses above.)

Focusing simply on the potential for sonic quality (rather than, say, the variety of music one can stream), where do you think his money would best be spent and why? Could he reach the same outcomes after spending on a TT, cartridge, phono stage, record cleaner, isolation table and all the other accoutrements necessary for a good phono set up as he could if he bought a good DAC, streamer, etc.?

If your tastes weigh so heavily toward analog or digital that you can simply decide this without considering the details of the comparison, please try to set those aside and answer based on what he might be able to get for $4-6k.

128x128hilde45
The ps audio unit is $6k. Is it a DAC only or does it include a streamer? The top of the price range is $6k, so this is a make or break question relating to that suggestion. Thanks.
I would go with phono because it involves the listener so much more than using a streamer or a computer to access your music and you have so much fun looking for vinyl at different places.
@speakermaster  
Interesting. Do you have an opinion on the question of which in that price range would sound better?
The vinyl would sound better on a better recording but it is all about the recording quality and usually the digital version will only be better than vinyl when you spend enough money on digital there are tradeoffs to both though.
I believe his record collection should be the determining factor.  If he just has a few, why bother?  If like me, he does not really care for the streaming algorhithms, go with the phono, and listen to the music he spent a lifetime collecting.