Upgrading your system three options DAC, Cartridge or speaker cables???


Got the urge to do a little unexpensive upgrade. With a budget up to $1000 give or take I pondered where to target my next upgrade. First my system:

Linn TT well upgraded.   5-6 yr old Ortofon 2M Black

Bells Virtuoso dual amp

Audible Illusion 3M- A pre

Vandys 2CE Sig - Kimber 12tc

Bluesound Node 2I. Qobuz.  Red River interconnect

I mostly (80%) listening to streaming since I'm new to the technology and love discovering new artists. I bought the Bluesound in 3/21. The SQ, I believe is good or even better than CD. I'm reasonable pleased but it's not Vinyl quality. Classic rock, jazz, prog rock are my favorite tunes. 

Considering: investing in Canare 4S 11 cables to replace Kimbers. Or Rocket 33 since I need bi wire. OR Invest in a DAC like the Gustard, Denafrip or Shiit. OR replace the cartridge with a Hanna SL (I'll need to add a phono setup) 

Someaudiophiles recommend starting with the input, Cartridge/ DAC, then working toward the output, cables. Others recommend just cables (Vandys recommend Audioquests) and enjoy the system until next upgrade!

As you can see the options are many, but what I'm interested is members suggestions as to where to start, input or output. Suggestions for equipment, cables, cartridge are also welcome. Thanks

 

128x128lobinero

since you say you stream music most of the time,  i would say the onboard dac inside the node 2i is a substantial bottleneck for sound quality in your set up

there are many standalone dacs in the $1000 range to consider that will outperform it... just search the digital section for discussions on dacs in that price range

good luck

If you have a substantial LP collection then go for a better mc cartridge/phono stage. Wire should be the least of your concerns!

In fact I would just keep using the Audible Illusions preamp for LP playback. No pressing need to add a separate phono stage!

I agree that since you're into streaming you need a standalone DAC, don't forget the cable. The Node internal Dac isn't capable of competing with CD quality. This will be a very audible upgrade to your system.