I am looking to upgrade - looking for advice

OP,

Please do not worry about some of the contradictory advice you got… particularly that from @perkadin. I am sure it is very well intended but is either not correct… or highly dependent.

As far as speakers. It is a rule of thumb that it is best to have speakers of above average cost per electronic component… but the reality is, great electronics will get the very best sound out of your speakers. I have been helping a friend build a system. Recently he ended up with a $13K Streamer / DAC, a $10K preamp and a $10K amp powering $800 KEF stand mountain speakers. Wow… it was simply great sounding. Ridiculous… I suppose… but they sounded amazing. Something I could enjoy and live with for a long time. Since then he got some $15K speakers. Does it sound better… yes, but the KEFs sounded quite amazing.

Most of us anre not rich, we build systems one step at a time. The important thing is to enjoy each step. You made a good step forward… and should feel great about it… like you will after spending time listening to it.

@ghdprentice Maybe I'm misreading but it seems your rule of thumb is literally based around spending a sufficient amount of money per upgrade, and then spreading that money evenly across components until everything is upgraded.  Unless you believe there is a linear relationship between price and performance that is a terrible idea.  Maybe I'm old fashioned but I think evaluating audio gear should be based around listening, and the only way to properly do that while managing external influences, such as yourself, is blind testing.    

Rules of thumb are good ways to begin extensive research of professional reviews and auditioning of audio equipment. I listen to equipment inside my circle of interest as well as outside the circle to verify the validity of any generalizations I have made on a search or made from my previous experience. If there are errors in my generalizations, then I start over.

From here I get serious about auditioning and comparing options. In more recent decades I have had the luxury of often auditioning in my home with the rest of my equipment. I have one main system, a high end headphone system, an office system and a “burn in / experimental system (mostly Schiit). So, I am connected to multiple levels of investment.

So, over the last fifty years I have developed my methodology and repeatedly used it for upgrades. None of it is fixed in concrete. Out of this experience I have noticed the end products of my searches have tended to end at some particular configuration. So, this is where I came up with my rules of thumb. And they are just that… starting places that do not replace lots of research and auditioning, but are helpful to guide folks to optimal solutions.

OP, amps and, preamps and integrateds do make a difference. When speakers get more complex and revealing they’re more likely to show the strengths and weaknesses of components,  The H390 has as much power as the A21 power amp and sounds more open and detailed without being bright and it holds together when the nova 300 starts getting grainy. Hegel’s 300 line is really the sweet spot from the company for the consumer. High power, competitive dac and quiet pre amp in a single box 

@ghdprentice There is a reason the masters of wine exam is done entirely blind (applicants are not told what wines they are drinking). Its impossible to not be influenced by what you read or know about a piece of gear or its manufacturer. If you really want to develop your listeners ear and provide real advice rather then encouragement, get a switcher and integrate blind testing into your process.

This video makes some great points -