if you had my system and $2,000 budgeted for an upgrade, where would you spend it?

@marktomaras,
Based on what I’ve read from some audiophiles that I trust, I would suggest you replace the fuses in your equipment with Synergistic Research Red or Black fuses (30 day return policy if there is no improvement I believe).
See: [url]https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/synergistic-red-fuse[/url] in the Audiogon Forum.
By replacing the fuses you will hear what your system is capable of after about 100 hours of fuse break in time.
At that point if you don’t like what you hear, you can consider some other type of change.
Changing any of the following: interconnects, speaker cable, power cords etc., obviously will create a different sound.
Just wondering if you have plugged your amp directly into the wall outlet, and did that improve the music?

danvignau, thank you for the input. I think the B&Ws are outclassed by the Rockport speakers and Wisdom sub, but I have daydreamed about a full range floor standing speaker!

jafant, I did not demo any Shunyata audio cables. In fact, I feel I should come clean about my cables, system wide. I never did any proper demos. I simply decided that at some point, I should have reasonable good quality interconnects, and so I began my research. I read a lot, looked at a lot of prices, and in the end, I was romanced by the Cardas story. The 300b cables represented a step above the company's most entry level cables, and they were affordable. For the speakers, I found the Cardas Cross cables to be even a notch up the pecking order, and so I added them to the system. As for power, I started with some Pangea power cables as they were a step above the cheap included cords, and were very affordable. Then I had some budget, and based on a ton of research, reading about PS Audio Powerplants, and looking at Shunyata conditioners, I scored a demo price on a Talos, a 1/2 price close out deal on the sidewinder VTX cables, and added the Venom HC for the more power hungry stuff. Last but not least, I picked up a Transparent performance USB as I was running the computer store cable. So that's the story with my cables. I am getting the feeling that the 300b IC cables are the weakest link, and that stepping those up properly to a better cable, with auditioning different options is a way to go. Any advice now that you have more info?

Mystic river, really? The DSD version is a huge improvement? Of course I have heard that, but is the difference THAT big? Does one need DSD files to realize the improvement? Most of my music is Redbook CD ripped to AIFF, but I do have a nice collection of higher res stuff.

Lak, what is the reasoning that fuses make such a difference?

I am getting the feeling that the 300b IC cables are the weakest link, and that stepping those up properly to a better cable, with auditioning different options is a way to go.

To be sure that what I had to say about cables in my previous post is not misinterpreted, I'll add that I was in no way implying a perception that cables are the weakest link in your system.  Frankly, I don't know what the weakest link is.  As I said in my initial post in the thread, "While I have no specific suggestions regarding a $2K upgrade...."

Good luck.  Regards,
-- Al
 

I said the Cardas 300B cables are a weak link due to the fact that they are an old design Cardas cable. They roll-off the highs, lack low-end extension, and colour the sound. They were replaced by a much better budget cable, the Parsec.

These cables are limiting the sonics of your fine components. My point all along has been that until you decide what that next major upgrade in your system will be, changing to better ICs will make a noticeable improvement.