Ideas on how to improve setup please

Ok this is awesome — thank you so much for the response, I really struggled trying to figure out speaker cables/wires when I set this up and read a wirecutter article saying they weren’t worth investing too much in so thought I had it covered (this is the article: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/the-best-speaker-cable/amp/ ) ...Excuse my ignorance but could you give me an exact link for the speaker cable you would suggest for my setup? If Black Cat or some other brand have something on Amazon that would be great, otherwise any place will do. Thank you so much for the help here, I had a feeling my wires were not great — just no idea what to replace it with.

The pods sound awesome too — will definitely look to get something to support my speakers, thanks very much for the links there.

Really great stuff, may hold off on the blue ortofon and larger tubes until I get these other pieces you mention in place first.

Thanks!!

Matt

Matt,

I don't know what you budget is but here's a link to a few cable companies just to give you a sense of things. If you browse or do a topic search through the Cable Forum you'll find others

Here's the link to Black Cat since mc mentioned it as an option some folks like

https://blackcatcable.com/collections/all
You'll also see under the cable forum that a number of folks seem to like Audio Envyhttps://audioenvy.com/store/
Audio Art Cable
https://audioartcable.com/

Raven Audio

www.ravenaudio.com

No voodoo bs just great cables power, speaker, XLR and RCA that perform and do not promise fairies and pixie dust.

I have all their cables, Blackhawk Integrated and CeLest Towers.

Simply wonderful as is my Pathos system.

Your system is good but your speakers are holding you back. Better speakers would move your whole system to another level.

Yeah, unfortunately wires do matter. Good ones mentioned above, and I’ll add Cullen Cable that sells direct so offers good value and offers an in-home trial period. Is there anything you’ve identified that you’d like to improve upon over what you’re hearing now?

I’m a little surprised you don’t find your Totems a little underpowered unless you have a small room or listen at fairly low volume levels. But other than that, and if it’s me, I’d look to upgrade the phono pre and DAC (assuming you’re using the one in the Node) along with the cartridge. I think each one of those upgrades can make significant improvements to your overall system sound.

I tend to disagree that the speakers may be holding you back assuming they are adequately powered. But the Hawks obviously have their limits, so possibly one of the biggest improvements you can make to your system on an absolute basis would be to add a couple small subs — something like a pair of SVS SB1000s ($1000 new with long trial period) will not only fill in the bottom octaves but also expand your soundstage significantly while potentially decreasing the load on your amp. 

Anyway, if I had your system those are the things I’d be thinking about. Hope this helps, and best of luck.