recommendation for a high end analog system


I never had an analog system until last month. I bought a 1989 SOTA TT with vacuum/Sumiko MMT arm/Dennon 103R retyped with elliptical/sapphire cantilever. My phono is Kitsune MK5 WBT that is amplified by Don Sach 2 tube preamp and Pass X350.5. My speaker are Sound Lab M545 ESL. The TT has been very   well maintained despite its age. It sounded very good until I heard my friend's system which has the same TT but with Lyra Skala cartridge and first generation Triplanar arm (Spectral pre/amp). His sounded noticeably clearer and fuller. What is the best way to get a noticeable improvement in my system without breaking the bank (or before I have to squint to hear the improvement). I would love to hear some wisdom from analog-philes.
128x128chungjh
$3200!!! Seems very high to me, but maybe that proves I am a troglodyte.  Especially in light of the added $1600 cost to upgrade it further.  Mine is about that old. I was actually at Herb Papier's house having mine upgraded to Mk7, or whatever was the final version made by Herb, when Tri was visiting with Herb to learn how to manufacture the tonearm. (Herb was the designer and inventor of the tonearm, and he made the whole thing himself in his basement workshop in Wheaton, MD. By that time he was farming out the manufacture of some of the individual parts, but he alone did the quality control and assembly.)  Since taking over, Tri has made some nice further upgrades to the arm in terms of parts quality and function.  Maybe if you can be patient, a later version will show up on the market for similar cost.   
@lewm 

Patience is not my strongest suit, but you are right. When I visited you a couple of years ago, you had the most amazing set of TTs that I have ever seen. A true audiophile.

I looked at the tonearm angle more carefully and it is not 0 degree bit maybe rising 1 degree up to the platter. It should be 0 degrees, no?
+1 @dover post
Send the TT to SOTA to refurbish with the Eclipse motor.
Upgrade the tone arm. Ask SOTA for a recommendation.
Then look for a new cartridge. Hana is nice and good price.
You are looking at about $5-10k+.
And a lot of work.
OR
Sell it all and, for the price of a good tone arm, buy a new Technics 1200G! Technics hit a home run with this TT and arm. Check out the reviews.
I just realized that with Triplanar, I can't close the lid due to the counterweight sticking out. There is a 10 yr old SME V on sale for $2999? What do you think? I talked to SOTA and they say SMEs were one of the most popular tonearms with SOTA. But, SME no longer sells the tonearm alone.