A. A. Capitole owners - what's the next step??

Then (after the caps), you might consider a different shelf (support) for the AA. Say, a Neuance or similar.
After that, you might also play around with diy I/C -- lowly magnet wire, for example (20-22gauge) and dispense with the IC plugs.

In other words, there's quite a lot to keep you happily occupied while you HOLD ON to yr AA.
I am no expert by any stretch of the imagination -- but, quite frankly, it would take an exhorbitant (IMO) investment to readily surpass the performance level of yr player AND you may find that the rest of the system needs "upgrading" too. Can of worms if ever...

I agree with all of the above. It is hard for me to believe that this is the weak link in your system. That is one hellava cdp you have there. In fact, (I own the Prima)if I had a different wife I'd go for the Capitole in a flash. I would think about: new ICs, power conditioning for your front end, Sistrum SP 1 to couple your cdp, etc. etc. There are oodles of tweaks that you can do to improve the sound. Why don't you (if you dare, lol) tell us what the rest of your listening rig is about. warren :-)

I don't own one of these babies but if I did, I would be putting my hobby money into music.

i owned and really enjoyed a AA Capitole, SE. Obviously you COULD upgrade the unit to SE status, which upgrades the caps and puts in a cryo'd tube. I would not be able to speak for what it would add, since I only ever had the SE version. I also know of someone (user FrankPiet) who had the volume attenuator modded to great effect.

I also agree that power cables and isolation are CRITICAL on any digital front end: I used the HRS iso platform and electraglide epiphany to great effect....

Ultimately, I ended up getting the Reimyo CDP and have not looked back. It's silly expensive and does not have a volume control, so would not meet your criteria. There's always the Meitner separates that do have a built in preamp stage....

OTOH, your stock player is mighty fine - so what specifically do you want to improve on?

Dous yours have the analog passthu? Your AAQ is future proof as you can upgrade the circuit board and then you can even run a tuner through it and forget about the pre altogether. The repair guy in Texas at Digital Systems can do this. Probably the other upgrades, too.