How to identify my weakest link?

@millercarbon 

Thanks for all the info and ideas! I’ll dig in for sure! You hooked me up with the Nobsound springs idea awhile back and as skeptical as I was, I was proven very wrong. Huge improvement. I’ll will look at upgrading to pods at some point. Sounds like they’re the way to go! Appreciate the detailed response. 
 

@noromance yeah the Umami is an option too. I definitely like the Hana SL and have thought about going the MLroute but then I came across the Purple Heart reviews. I get it, they’re reviews but it seems to get a thumbs up everywhere I turn. 3x the price though. I doubt it’s 3x the cartridge but maybe? Only one way to find out. Try it. People talk about finding deals on this cart, but where? I feel like buying a used cartridge is a bad idea. 

1+ for the Umami!

If you are going to look for speaker platforms, take a look at this before. I wish I could post pictures.....I could show the decay difference between the Credo Audio and Townshend Podiums... Both are very good, but the Credo has an edge IF they have the platform that fits your speakers.

Here is a video that compare different setups. tedious but good. I did my own comparison using REW and I can confirm that at least on my room with my setup i can repro what he claims.

Either way as mentioned before isolate everything, worth 10 times the room treatment because you are addressing the sources and not the symptoms.

Take a look at the decay difference!

You can achieve near perfect match with control room RT60 targets with right room furnishings and hidden treatments. This room is almost textbook perfect with a difficult bit of asymetry… Don’t sell investing in the room short.

Roger Skoff wrote and article on this in October.

For your enjoyment: 

you might also widen your perspective on isolation. May excellent made in USA isolation. I like HRS but there are others…many others…..nice to see others are giving you more diverse advice…

The high end Hana is worlds away from purple heart lush romantic, you seem focused on a deal vs defining where you want the system sound to go…

IF you don’t know where you are going, any positive review will get you there.

You can somewhat tame the tweeter you have w felt sheets, use a star pattern around the dome.