Which Upgrade First - Cartridge Or Phono Stage

My vote goes towards upgrading the cart first. I believe the PS Audio GCPH phonostage you have is resolving enough to showcase the difference in carts of varying quality. I think if you stick with your current cart and upgrade the phono, the difference in SQ is likely going to be nuanced/minimal and you will end up still having to upgrade the cart. If the GCPH were no tresolving enough then I would have said wait until you have saved to upgrade both.

The Dyna is a pretty good cartridge. I think you will see more bang for your buck with a better phono stage.

Shakey

I think you will hear a greater upgrade in sound by changing the cartridge. You will hear the improvement with your ps phono stage

2 issues: 1. Its your money and you can spend it however you like but I think you are making a mistake with the Nordost. I'm not suggesting that it is not a good cable and/or you should not use it. That said, I think it is extremely foolish to buy active components based on what cables you have.If there was ever a wrong way to do something, this is it.
2. I had the 10x5 in my VPI and thought it was great for the money. I also had the low output 20 and it was a very big step up in sound quality. I know you have a $1500 budget but you might be happy with a 20 or something similar and may not need to spend that much. I would listen to a few things first before making a decision. If you call Ultra Systems/The Cable Company (fatwyre.com) you can arrange to try anything you like out of their lending library.

Thanks for the responses so far. I'm hearing what I thought might be the case with respect to the PS Audio GCPH and that I would likely get more bang for the buck migrating up the line with the cartridge.

xxqq250 - I appreciate your position regarding the cables. However, please recognize that I have to take into consideration the WAF associated with having just invested in brand new cables only to have to repurchase because I changed connectors. I'm pretty confident that there are quality phono stages that are balanced out that will not compromise my choice - although the options are certainly more limited. But, I will assure you that I'm more inclined to deal with the limited choices than to deal with an irate wife who really doesn't understand why I'm wanting to upgrade anything in the first place - it's a true balancing act.