Streamer vs. Cart upgrade (here we go again…)

@charles007100  You’re missing the point here.  The OP is streaming through Bluetooth so a Pontus II with the Iris and Wiim is a big upgrade. 

@soix I guess you are right, lot of us went through that and ended up wasting time and money with the Chinese stuff…you do make a good point..

I should be more supportive, sorry about that…

@soix WiiM ultra isn’t all that great. Not sure if you heard it or used it. Sound is very low fi. The EQ options can somewhat make it more tolerable but that is a very temporary bandaid at best.
OP…If you add a bit to your $2,000 I would look for Bryston BDA-3.14 and use it as a roon endpoint. Stream Qobuz or Tidal. You can use it with its native Manic Moose software if you don’t want to add another subscription (Roon) but I highly advise to forego the Moose and do Roon. 
In any case whatever you do WiiM isn’t going to knock your socks off. 

A few years ago, I traded in my turntable to focus on getting a better streaming sound. I spent a lot of effort and money on the digital side, but wasn’t fully satisfied and still yearned for the vinyl sound that I heard on other people’s often quite modest systems.

Last year, I got a new turntable as outlined in my virtual system. Now, I much prefer playing vinyl records.

You can’t say one format is best because they all have there own strengths and weaknesses. Also, the quality of the mastering in each case is very important. If you can afford it, you really need both to cover all the bases. 

I sometimes listen to ripped CDs, etc and Qobuz. Yet I find vinyl to be the absolute pinnacle for sound quality. Unlike the other formats, I sit listening for hours enthralled. There’s something magical about it - it is sublime.

No brainer.  Bluetooth sucks.  Comparing analog to Bluetooth is like comparing a 67 Mustang Convertible to a Yugo rusting away in a trash heap