Think about your long term goals. Consider how much of a hurry you need to be in. Recall the story of Mr. Tortoise and Mr. Hare. If you want to move up the food chain, I'd recommend spending the whole $2500 on good electronics. For that kind of dough, I'd say buy a used, high-value tube integrated amp. Right now, there are solid offerings in this category for sale by VTL, McIntosh, Cary, and others.
Plug it in, and see how you like the improvement. I'm going to predict you'll have great results. You must have some kind of speakers lying around, so just use those for a while. If you're not in fact in a big hurry, don't be so impatient as to split your funds between too many components, because at the lower price ranges you'll not be very happy. Next time you get $2500 or more, spend it on some decent used, full range speakers. Lots of deals available in that category.
Turntable: unless you have a lot of LPs or a lot more money than you're indicating, I say don't do it. At least not yet. Stream and play CDs, and you'll be fine.
Good luck!
Plug it in, and see how you like the improvement. I'm going to predict you'll have great results. You must have some kind of speakers lying around, so just use those for a while. If you're not in fact in a big hurry, don't be so impatient as to split your funds between too many components, because at the lower price ranges you'll not be very happy. Next time you get $2500 or more, spend it on some decent used, full range speakers. Lots of deals available in that category.
Turntable: unless you have a lot of LPs or a lot more money than you're indicating, I say don't do it. At least not yet. Stream and play CDs, and you'll be fine.
Good luck!