Best investment; cartridge or line stage?

I also think the Rega Tonearm is 'good enough', until you move up to a far superior TT.

You will DEFINITELY hear an improvement, BETTER, with a new cartridge with an advanced stylus shape.

A different Phono Stage? I would love to hear the existing and new cartridges thru that Sutherland TZ Vibe Phono Stage, your system or mine.

If the Sutherland sounds great, why even think about changing it? Have you heard something elsewhere that makes you think it is not great? Unless a POC, phono stage differences  are about PREFERENCE, not better..

I highly recommend, after you break your new cartridge in, and saved some money, buy a Phono Stage with return privileges. It may prove how great your Sutherland is.

Don't forget, the Sutherland has adjustable gain settings. Medium/High/Low

Compared to other sources, streaming, CD: where is the Preamp's volume setting when playing Vinyl? If preamp volume is higher than the others, change Sutherland to higher gain. It preamp's volume is higher than the others, try lower gain.

@milo0812   Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water ...

Another county heard from. Everyone hears differently. I think that you should listen to other systems and other components as much as possible - but you already knew that. One last piece of advice - don't hurry! Good equipment will still be available in 6 months or a year.

@terry9 yes indeed, I'm not sure crossing the street in heavy traffic is wise 😱.

@elliottbnewcombjr So the interest in moving up the Sutherland line comes from a conversation I had with the owner (we both live in KC, go Chiefs) when I bought the TZ vibe. He said the difference in the TZ and the little loco was significant. Different tech. He advised I go straight to the little loco instead of buying then taking a hit on resale of the little loco, but my wallet did not support the thought at that time. Before I made that jump, I thought I better consider cartridge vs phono stage.

resale of the TZ

btw,

Those speakers are 92 db sensitivity, and the bass is self powered: thus not needing a lot of power.

You might someday consider going all tube, i.e. sell the McIntosh Hybrid.

Perhaps get a Stereo model that can also be used as Mono, so you can double your power in the future if you fall in love with some inefficient speakers (don’t even listen to inefficient speakers if you know what’s good for you).

And, the speakers are 4 ohm nominal, if you ever change to all tubes, look for an amp that doubles it’s power for 4 ohms.