Cartridge or cable upgrade

Get a new 10x5 and buy a good used pair of IC's like an AQ Jaguar for 100-150. They sound way better than anti cables and have the DBS system which is a good choice for TT's because they stay broken in with little use.

"Yes, the table is probably the weaker link in the system, but at this stage I'm not sure how invested I want to get in the analog side of things."

Your TT is more than adequate to get you started in vinyl. You'll see that upgrading is very different for digital and analog. With digital, you upgrade to something better sounding, but after that, you feel the need to upgrade again. And again after that. With vinyl, you can think of upgrades and improvements, but are not so compelled to do them like digital. Its much easier to enjoy what you currently have, even though there are improvements to be had.

"09-12-14: Kiko65
You got it all wrong, your TT is NOT your weakest link, your cart IS!
Second weakest link, your cables.
Third, your phono pre.
Fourth, your TT.
Everything else (mat, clamp, isolation, etc.) is really trial and error!"

How do you know that?

"A better cart will always improve sound quality.
A better cable will help bring the best out of the signal.
A better phono pre will help the cart do it's magic."

Prove it.

If you are getting a 10x5, you don't need an sut.

Kiko65,

"In all possible analog combinations I've tried over the past 20 years, a better cart/ phono pre/IC improved the reproduction of the music more so than a better TT with cart/phono pre/IC of lesser quality."

What were your findings in comparing high and low output carts?

"Respectfully disagree. I don't think that, given the architecture of the existing system, a Dynavector 10X5, or even a 20XL, will be a subjectively large improvment. The turntable is the limiting factor here and is sonically unbalanced with the rest of the system."

What do you mean by sonically unbalanced? I have both of those cartridges and going from the 10x5 to the low output version of the 20 is a pretty big difference. I'm not using really expensive equipment either.