The phono preamp is as important as the turntable itself. The cartridge is the last in the vinyl chains as far as importance. Of course you need a good cartridge. But Origin live says to spend 30% of budget on each, TT, Arm & Phono preamp and 10% on the cartridge. I believe this to be pretty much correct.
The speaker sure do make a difference also. They should be equidistant from the side walls and not too close to the back wall. Mine are about 3 1/2 ft. from the back wall to front baffle.