where to invest???

I vote for dedicated lines and room treatments. Clean power and taming the room are often overlooked.

Tvad or Stringreen,
Have you used something like the EP 2050? How did it affect the sound, and did make you get rid of conditioners and or aftermarket power cords?

Dedicated lines for sure - that was an instant and pleasant upgrade for me.

As attractive as is 'tastier toast' actually is, just how did it do with the clothes dryer? if it thereafter precludes the need for fabric softener sheets... Why the savings there, alone would pay for it!

Power cords and power line filters or conditioners, such as a twin outlet Hydra, or perhaps better still, Ps Audio Duet or UPC 200.

herbies Audio too offers some viable inexpensive solutions, though I do get better results with Bright Star compliant nodes, if you are thinking Big Fat dots and the like.

Small wood blocks of varying tuypes also contribute to isolation and promote different aspects of the general character of the system's sonics.

Albeit, following the implementation of some power cable of line considerations, I'd suggest a good component rack.

Naturally, these measures translate to other components you may upgrade too eventually.

Thereafter play with signal cables, as you will have addressed, to some degree more or less, those things which are most subtractive to system performance... vibration and dirty power.

Because it's a 'system', addressing the foundation (s) or fundamentals, initially, always seemed the best approach to me. Certainly, there are other paths, but that's how I've done all of my rig building efforts... after I saw first hand their importance. Previously, I didn't believe any of this stuff... then I tried some of the suggestions provided by others here at Audiogon, and found out this most valid thought... "Everything makes a difference!"

Then of course, you get to judge if that difference is better or not... and nearly everything available is capable of providing you a 'different' sound.

Welcome... and good luck

thank you gentlemen, so i gather vibration and AC purification are more fundamnetal to good performance than cabling, at this point in the systems life? i do, supposedly, have dedicated lines. but who knows what the electricians really did. whether they took the time to follow my instructions or not i cannot tell because i was not home while the work was done and these particular guys cut a few corners in other areas.
thank you all again.