recommendation for a high end analog system


I never had an analog system until last month. I bought a 1989 SOTA TT with vacuum/Sumiko MMT arm/Dennon 103R retyped with elliptical/sapphire cantilever. My phono is Kitsune MK5 WBT that is amplified by Don Sach 2 tube preamp and Pass X350.5. My speaker are Sound Lab M545 ESL. The TT has been very   well maintained despite its age. It sounded very good until I heard my friend's system which has the same TT but with Lyra Skala cartridge and first generation Triplanar arm (Spectral pre/amp). His sounded noticeably clearer and fuller. What is the best way to get a noticeable improvement in my system without breaking the bank (or before I have to squint to hear the improvement). I would love to hear some wisdom from analog-philes.
128x128chungjh
As you see, for almost the price on the old used SME V you can get a 1200G.
However, if you want to go all in with the SOTA, get the SME V and have SOTA rebuilt the TT. Mostly, you will then have a rig that may sound more grounded then the Technics but not necessarily better.
And there are several recommended upgrades that should be done on the 1200G that will add about $1000 to the price.
Mostly, with the SOTA and SME, you will have a much more substantial rig and may have the most pride of ownership.
@mglik 

A lot of people are raving about 1200G. How long have had it and how durable is it?
@dover , The Tri Planar is a great arm. Donna specifically told me that the current Tri Planar will not fit without cutting away part of the plinth cover. I was seriously considering it.
@lewm, although SOTA has not mounted one yet I believe the Reed 2G will fit. It was another arm I was considering. I got a dimensional drawing of the 2G and it will fit but it will require a light tonearm board. In the end I did not go for it because of the way the tonearm cable attaches to the arm. You would have to cut a notch in the dust cover to bring the cable out on top of the plinth. It does not make for a neat installation. The Schroder and Origin Live arms have cables that exit under the tonearm board which makes for a much neater installation and does not interfere with the dust cover.  I went with the CB because it meet all of my primary criteria in a very elegant way. It has one wire from cartridge to RCAs without any connections, it is neutral balance so VTF does not change with elevation, The vertical bearing is at the level of the record minimizing warp wow, it has frictionless anti skating and the bearings are top notch.
The new Cosmos comes with the Eclipse motor system which I will report on once I have the table which I put a $4K deposit on 3 MONTHS AGO.
bkeske, I also have a high output Soundsmith I am dying to hear.
chungjh, you really do not want to consider a different turntable. Once you are use to the bullet proof performance of the Sota and it's top notch isolation you will be unhappy with most other turntables including all of the VPIs. The Sota may not be the fanciest looking table out there but darn does it work well. 
@mijostyn,

I have to agree that SOTA is bullet proof. My friend's system that I was raving about at the beginning has a 30 yr SOTA.
The only thing with TP with SOTA is that the counter weight sticks out and the dustcover won't close while playing.