Equal $$ for Phono OR Streaming?


Consider the following situation. A friend who's watched me put together my system has decided to follow suit. He's inherited some very good speakers and amplification (no DAC) from a relative and has about wants to finish out the main elements of the system with the best possible source. He has about $4-6k to spend and wishes to spend it on either a phono stage/TT combo OR a DAC/streamer combo. (For content, he is willing to spend either on vinyl or streaming services to fulfill whichever path he chooses above.)

Focusing simply on the potential for sonic quality (rather than, say, the variety of music one can stream), where do you think his money would best be spent and why? Could he reach the same outcomes after spending on a TT, cartridge, phono stage, record cleaner, isolation table and all the other accoutrements necessary for a good phono set up as he could if he bought a good DAC, streamer, etc.?

If your tastes weigh so heavily toward analog or digital that you can simply decide this without considering the details of the comparison, please try to set those aside and answer based on what he might be able to get for $4-6k.

128x128hilde45
Questions for you , does your friend have a specific music genre and particular artists he/she primarily enjoys, and are they available on vinyl and broadly so?
Its a personal choice. Either way done right will sound great and need not cost a fortune.

If you are a music lover and do not already have a record collection, its a no brainer...go streaming.

IF you have a lot of records you want to play or just the idea of buying and playing records is the appeal.....do it.

You could even go totally nuts and do some of both...


My friend inclines towards pop, rock, classical, and jazz.

I’m hoping to keep some factors outside the core question -- excluding cost, availability of content, fussiness or convenience, etc. He has funds for those things and has time. He considers this a hobby and does not demand it necessarily be as easy as possible. So, this is a question about what-it-would-take to reach a roughly equivalent sonic outcome using the competing hardware. Sorry I didn't make that clear.
“this is a question about what-it-would-take to reach a roughly equivalent sonic outcome using the competing hardware.”

@hilde45, 

It would be helpful to know what speaker / amp your friend currently owns. As you know, system synergy plays an important role in component selection. 
In the OP your friend had $4k to $6k to spend. Now it changes to "excluding cost" which is fine. Either way, even at the original $4 to 6k if what he wants is sound quality this is easy. 

Buy the Decware ZP3, fabulous phono stage for $1300. Buy something like a Benz Glider with .7mV output so you don't need the SUT. This brings him to about $2k.

At this point he has a cart and phono stage that will make just about any turntable sound great. All he needs is a table with arm and built-in phono lead. To avoid having to spend money on a phono interconnect. He can spend the rest of his budget, $2k, $4k or whatever, on a great turntable. All kinds of options there. 

And there you go. Done. Not hard at all.   

Only problem, it will not be "roughly equivalent." It will be "vastly superior." I hope your friend will be okay with that?