Upgrade? Power cord or CD Player?

Absolutely upgrade your source before cabling! A good one box player would probably be best, but the Chord DAC64 sounds great and is pretty insensitive to the transport used, if you can find one for $1500, do it! I've never heard the Ikemi but people seem to really like it, I once owned the Krell KPS30i and really liked it, but it didn't play cd-r's at all so I had to sell it. Whatever you end up doing, remember to enjoy the process.

If you want to try a better IC for your Toshiba, go ahead, but that's not where I'd spend a thousand bucks. It's a good IC you say, and I trust your first hand experience. I'm just not sure it will improve what you're now getting out of the Toshiba by that much.

On the other hand, all your other candidates, either CDP or DAC, provide better performance, especially in the D to A department, even through your present cables.

And if your preamp has balanced inputs, the Krell, Levinson, and Wadia products (I know for sure about) have balanced outputs. And my experience has convinced me that digital equipment that has balanced analog outputs always sounds better when connected through them (but I haven't got a clue why ;~))

I would spend all $2200, and add a tad if I had to, on the best darn cdp I could find. The source. ALWAYS!! If you don't have a great pair of ICs, that is where I would want to go next. If it was me, I wouldn't want my cdp to be behind the eight ball from the get go, would you? peace, warren

upgrade the cdp I have heard the Levinson in my friends system and that is my choice !but the others are also great