Next Upgrade??

@rmdmoore,

As a thought to maximize what you have at the lowest cost:  add the  MUSICAL SURROUNDINGS LINEAR CHARGING POWER SUPPLY http://www.musicalsurroundings.com/products/musical-surroundings-linear-charging-power-supply-lcps; the cost is $650.  This may be your best $/benefit.  

Just a thought

I can't say that anything bothers me about my system. it images fairly well, good bass, definitely loud enough. Just always looking for a little better.

If what you listed really is your whole system then the surest safest way to get what you want for the least amount of money is to first get the most out of what you already have. 

Synergistic PHT on your cartridge will be like a new cartridge. Everything you already like, only more. Get the Green Dream and Black Beauty and use both together. That's what I do. Green Dream is liquid, deep, almost sensual. Black Beauty is dynamic, extended, just more of everything. Together they are fantastic. All those who have taken my advice on this have told me they are extremely pleased with the result.  (Do NOT get Purple Haze. Unless you really do want everything to sound like Jimi Hendrix. Oh well that is what they make the money back guarantee for I guess.)

You will also notice in my system quite a lot of Synergistic ECT and HFT. There's also Orange Fuses in everything. Its hard to see, I use it discretely, but there's fO.q tape on the tone arm and motor. This tape is extremely effective vibration control. Unlike all other vibration damping materials I have tried this tape works on extremely fine micro-vibrations. As such it removes a layer of grunge you never knew was there. Midrange in particular opens up with more presence. Not by being exaggerated but by removing the grunge that was in there obscuring detail. Fantastic stuff. Looks expensive by the square inch- until you use it and hear how much just one square inch can do. 

All these things I'm suggesting, what makes them better than just buying another component is these are all forever things. You buy a component wonderful, you got a component. Until you sell it to get another one. Then you lose everything you put into the first one. All the stuff I'm recommending you will be using on every component and room you're in for the rest of your audio career.  

I am in other words telling you how to build a system. To get somewhere. As opposed to run on a treadmill......   

In case you're wondering, is this stuff really worth it? I just had four guys over and when I removed just one tweak- cable elevators- they all heard the sound stage collapse. Yes. This stuff is totally worth it.

Buy more vinyl and upgrade your cartridge when the Hanna wears out.   

You system looks great! Very well chosen and balanced, so it’s hard to pick a real soft spot, which is why you’re going to get a dozen different answers.

Upgrading your cartridge to a "next level" is always a solid upgrade in your position, so the very cool looking Umami should indeed be a tempting option. If you want to try something different there are nice deals on new Benz cartridges in the classifieds here. I picked up an LPS myself recently and can highly recommend it; superb for the money! (Note: I’m not saying the LPS itself would be a great choice for a Tracer, as you will likely need a heavier counterweight for its very!! heavy 16g mass, but other models in the upper line like SLR should work great!)

Next I’d look at that RP-1 (I have a lot of experience with Rogue gear, though not with that one). I’ve heard it said, by someone I trust who’s heard all the RP’s, that you really want to get up to at least the RP-5. Especially with your level of gear, and those M180’s. There are also great all-tube used Rogue preamps to look for: Perseus Magnum, 99 Magnum, Athena -- though you will lose the digital volume, I personally prefer the Athena’s sound to even the top of the RP line.

Next look at phono stage. I moved on from the ~ $1K solid state phono stages a long time ago, in favor of tube stages, and loved the result. The new Trumpet MC is tubed (well, with a JFET front end) and potentially a legit giant killer at $1K. It’s a great choice if you like a warm, open sound. Plus it has loading options to work great with even the Benz ruby-plate cartridges, which would struggle on a SUT. I bet say a Benz SLR plus Trumpet at $3K total would blow many people away. But there are a lot of great tube stages out there if you want something different. 

Further down the line, if you look at Dark’ing your already excellent M180’s -- personally I’d advise you rather to trade in towards a Zeus or Apollos. I’ve had sets of Apollos both normal and dark, and the bigger jump was from M180 (which I’ve heard in comparison to my Apollos at my dealer’s) to Apollo/Zeus rather than from Apollo to Apollo Dark. It’s psychologically nice for me to think of those high-end caps in the Dark version, but personally they didn’t rock my world quite as much as I’d thought they would for the upgrade price.

thanks everyone for the input! @mulveling, you have a lot of good infor for me. I've been a rogue guy for 20 years and have had nothing but positive experiences. My goal is ultimately to have an RP-7 and maybe that's a better move than a new cartridge. Like @flatblackroind said, use the one I have till it wears out and then upgrade. It's a nice cartridge and it seems like the distributor always let's you upgrade which leaves that door open for later. 

Upgrading my amps is not super high on my list. My speakers are a fairly easy load so I don't need the extra power the Apollo's would give me. Might go stepwise to darks but am likely to upgrade my TT before that.

This has been really helpful. Thinking maybe preamp before cartridge at this point and then upgrade cartridge in 1k hours. might also do the linear power supply in the meantime.