My jazz collection told me to get a *real* system

Besides, speakers are half the system, at least.

Interesting. I guess my impression has been that I need to stretch the most on the table and cart.

This doesn't mean that speakers should cost half the system, it depends. I have about $3k in current dollars speakers and $7k table/arm/cartridge/phono. I like my speakers and brought just about everything out of them, I guess. Next step would be big speakers upgrade, $5k used speakers, at least.

As a fellow jazz fan, I second Charles' recommendation about tube gear.  In my opinion, tubes, vinyl and jazz just go together like a magic potion.  They bring out the best in each other.  That said the right solid state gear can make some special music too.  My recommendation is to find a friendly dealer who can steer you in the direction of a satisfying long term setup.  I would concentrate first on the vinyl playback setup since the source quality is so important.  The amplifier and speaker choices are interrelated so I would make those decisions at the same time even if you have to delay the actual purchase of replacement speakers to a later date.

Jazztherapist,
Inna offers some good suggestions. The speakers are important "but" so is every other part of the audio signal chain, thus the weakest link (in the chain) analogy applies. In my opinion the Epos M5 are not the weak link in your system. I’d put available resources toward better turntable, Phono stage and integrated amplifier.

In you stated budget range you can research and find a high quality solid state integrated (especially if you buy used). Stereophile found the Epos M5 to have a good balance of detail and an organic character (that’s good). J.A. said measurements were impressive for such a modest priced speaker, surely a compliment.

So based on your financial realities and long term plans I’d keep the Epos (for now) and focus on improving your analog source and amplifier quality. The Epos seems good enough to be able to reflect and exploit upstream upgrades.
Charles

Some thoughts:

1. Don’t rule out tubes. You would be amazed at how good a tube amp can bring out subtlety, texture, and nuance. No disrespect to SS.
2. Buy quality that will last the years. In my main system, I have had the tube power amp (Prima Luna PL5) for 12 years, the preamp/ cd player for 13 years (Musical Fidelity CD Pre 24), the SACD player for 16 years (SONY SCD 555ES), and the speakers (Opera Platea) for 8 years.

Now that I have turned 60, I start wondering when I will need to pull the trigger on the last, great rig.

Once you upgrade the NAD, you will upgrade the EPOS eventually. In the interim, you can hear what an amp a few notches above the NAD can do with the EPOS. (Note: I owned the NAD 320 until I upgraded to tubes).

I would suggest the following top of the line Prima Luna tube integrated as the anchor of your new system. It should last 20 years, if not longer. It is certainly powerful enough for most speakers. PL makes tube ownership easy with adaptive bias. PL probably offers a phono preamp board for this amp.

https://www.upscaleaudio.com/collections/primaluna/products/primaluna-dialogue-premium-hp-integrated-amplifier

You have to start somewhere. Good Luck with it all.


Rich