Help/advice with next upgrade


Over the past year,I assembled my 1st audiophile system since prior to raising kids,developing my career,all those standard things!I am enjoying it quite a bit....it consists of :
.Vandersteen 2CE Signature Speakers(mki)
.Vandersteen 2WQ Crossover with X2 Crossovers
.McCormack DNA 0.5 Rev-A Amplifier
.Tom Tutay Modified Eastern Electric Minimax Tube Preamp w/NOS Tubes
.Schiidt Audio Bifrost Multibit DAC
.1990’s Rotel CD player(digital coax out to DAC)
.Rega P3 Turntable w/stock Elys Cartidge and Rega Fono MM Phono Preamp
.Interconnects by Blue Jean Audio(BJA)
.Speaker Cables-Home Made Biwire Runs using Belden 12 gage BJA Bulk Cable
.Power Cords by Cullen Audio
.Inexpensive 4-shelf AV vertical rack with MDF shelves

I have $ 2-3 K to spend on upgrades(cost of purchase minus return from selling existing gear ) .I listen to approximately 10% vinyl,75% steaming(eg Spotify via USB output from my iPad),and 15% CDs.
My musical tastes vary from rock & roll to jazz to classical.I am contemplating purchase of a Bluesound Vault 2,which would replace my CD player,allow me to purchase high-rez digital music online,and manage all my streaming.That would cost me $ 1K.My room is 17’x 17’(square) with a standard 8’ ceiling.wall-to-wall carpeting and few windows.I have little flexibility for rearranging the system.

The system is the best sound I’ve had for years.The subwoofer handles the lows quite well and the highs are clear,satisfying,and nonaggressive.Sonically what I’d like to improve is midrange clarity(more detail without being aggressive) and a sense of spatial dimension/imaging.

I’ve considered upgrading the 2CEsigs to 3Asigs but I am not sure if the DNA 0.5 has enough power to drive the 3aSigs.I have not compared theTutay/Minimax preamp to others,so I don’t know how to rank the other choices.I realize that much of my cable is pretty basic,and my speaker cables are not the same length(8’/20’ to avoid crossing a doorway.)The phono preamp and DAC are pretty basic too.So many choices for upgrades.Looking for recommendations towards my sonic goals,as well as whether it’s worthwhile to get the Blue Vault given my listening preferences,

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Mike S.
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mjschwartzman
Since you stream 75%, why not try a subscription to Tidal. Upgrade incoming signal to DAC.? 




I also agree with use of room treatment which can be DIY, and the use of an external USB/SPDIF converter. 
Personally, I’ve tried using the DSpeaker Antimode 803 with a system built around a pair of professionally rebuilt Quad57’s. The speakers were close to walls, and the room was small, and the system had plenty of base. The Antimode definitely cleaned up the bass, tightened it up, but it also reduced transparency to the main speakers That bothered me, and I did not keep it. For you, it will depend on the current quality of your bass, and the balance in value between tightening the bass and losing a tad bit of transparency. In a square room, it could do a better job then acoustic treatments.

You can try tidal for the first month for free. But you have to be on board with spending $20 a month for music if you like it.

As for electrical. That can be a cost-effective upgrade if there are clear and easy path from your circuit breakers to your room. If that’s the case, like if you have a basement and it’s easy to run new circuits, it can be pretty inexpensive to run a couple dedicated circuits for you audio system. Electricians are pretty good at fishing things through walls, but reasonably easy routes need to be there to make that work.
These days my Quads are the more modern 2805s. I bought a B&W PV1d sub to extend the bass, but did not like it very much. The bass was woolly/slow or whatever you want to call it. Then I decided I was probably suffering from room modes, and bought an Antimode 8033. This immediately cured the problem, and also improved the integration enormously. The Quads are dipoles and therefore do not suffer from room modes to the same extent as other speakers. Subwoofers do, and that is the problem with the integration of subs and Quad electrostats. The dipoles are so clean that the bad behaviour of the subs is accentuated. Add room eq (and preferably also a second sub) and you have cured the room modes, and also the lingering of the tones that give this impression of a ’slow’ speaker. It is not the speaker that is slow but the room.
@willemj - everything you say makes sense, and I believe that the Antimode is best used if inserted between the preamp and the subwoofer (keeping it out of the path to the mains).  But the Vandersteen system requires a speaker level connection from the amp to the subwoofer, which means that the Antimode would need to be inserted upstream of both the mains and the sub.  This was the situation with my Quad57's where a sub was not needed in my room.