Now, I'm confused.

roberjerman
Regarding fuses and speaker wire - neither will give you an improvement in sound quality - regardless of what the "golden ears" crowd says! I have been in this hobby for 40+ years and am appalled by the level of "magical" thinking about wire (and now fuses)! Hucksterism to entrap the gullible!

Uh, once I got to the part about, “ I have been in this hobby for 40+ years and...” I stopped reading. Was that wrong? 🙄

I have had a GFA555 and a GFP750 for my vinyl system for many years and I also have a NAD c165BEE preamp in another system. I've paired both preamps with my other amps - McIntosh MC2200 and Vincent SP-331 and none gave me the wide/deep soundstage I was looking for. So I decided to try a tube preamp - Aric Audio Unlimited, and the difference was shocking. I ultimately left the Adcom system the same because of the good phono stage in the GFP750 but the combination of the Unlimited with either of the other amps throws a huge soundstage - same speakers (Vandersteen 2Ci), same location, etc. The moral of the story is; if you want a soundstage and don't want to spend thousands on a mega SS preamp, try a tube preamp, even a moderately priced piece could give you what you want. The lush and charming sound is the icing on the cake.  

Forgot to add that the Unlimited also has a decent phono stage, its a hybrid SS/tube circuit but sounds real good. Or you can just get an all tube phono stage preamp from Aric at a couple hundred $ less.

By the way, I'm a little confused by OPs reference to Saga. The Schiit preamps, Saga, Freya, etc., are all line stage. Mani is their only phono stage preamp if Dual is your only source.

no Geoff, not wrong, just reality-based.
Soundstage can be improved with many things, as stated above, from the Dual to the cartridge, to the phono stage to the cables, to his amps. But this guy just wants to make one or two simple upgrades.
(and I cant suggest Morrow, based on my prior experience with them and their cables). 

Dude, your system is fine. Suggest that you do what most of us do, replace one piece of equipment at a time. Save your money, and a few months down the road, replace another piece of equipment. And on and on. that is the great thing about this hobby, it will continue to grow and change for the better over time. that is where the fun is!

But it is true that the source has to be a good quality to keep good sound quality from source to speakers. SQ only degrades from source to speakers, it does NOT improve along the way. it will change, yes, but you cant recover resolution after you have lost it.

However, the Schiit tubed preamps you are looking at do NOT have a built-in phono stage like the NAD 162, so if you swapped your preamp, then you would still have to have a phono stage. Tubed preamps with built-in phono stages tend to get expensive quickly. 

And generally speaking, phono stages built into preAmps tend to be of lower quality. Even though the NAD 162 is a perfectly capable preamp, the phono stage probably is not that well supported, more of an accessory, and likely part of the reason you are not getting the soundstage you want, as posted above.

IMO/IME, the cheapest route to get what you want would probably be a SS external phono stage running into a small tubed preamp. That will make a very noticeable difference in your sound quality AND soundstage. 

I would suggest the German made Clear Audio mini phone stage. I have one myself for 3-4 years now. Before I bought it, I walked into an AV store in San francisco and asked the TT/Turntable guy, "Which phono stage would you recommend for around $500? The Clear Audio Nano v2, he said. Then I asked him, which phono stage he would suggest for $500-$1000? ..... The Clear Audio Nano v2 he said, the same one he said before. !

The Clear Audio Nano V2 is here: http://clearaudio.de/en/products/electronics-nano_phono_v2.php
it runs MM and MC, can specify some filters like subsonic, etc.
New = $500, used = $250. 

And to reconsider, perhaps getting a better phono stage would be your first buy. Run the Dual into the Clear Audio and then into the inputs of the NAD 162, then add the tube preamp which will put a smile on your face.
good luck

Treating your room properly with bass traps and diffusors will give you improvements greater than the equipment upgrade your contemplating IMO. It can be DIY, or with the many cost effective suppliers. You can do treatments in steps, and if your willing to go all in, the transformation will be startling.

  LP