I am looking to upgrade - looking for advice

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It depends on where you want to go… how far. Most of us have upgraded our systems over years.

I have a couple rules of thumb. 1. Never upgrade less than 2x or more in investment. This makes it very probable you are going to hear a really big improvement from the upgrade of each component. 2. Each electronic component (function) should be invested at approximately the same level (but you must choose the very best and compatible with your tastes). So, amp = preamp = DAC= phonostage = streamer. At this is point the full upgrade cycle is over… even if it takes couple years or more.

So, if you really want a big upgrade by the time you are done… then shoot for $1K to $1.5 K per function. In your price category I would not shy away from used. When done, your next step would be speakers, effectively starting the cycle over… or ending the cycle… depending what you want to do.

So, step one would be a great preamp. If you have the money, you could do an amp at the same time (or an integrated). Then, spend a lot of time with them… at least a couple hundred hours of listening… then go for a DAC and then a Streamer. I don’t know how invested you are in vinyl… but I would leave that behind. Lots of cost that could better be invested in your core system and streaming. A format with nearly infinite music with almost no cost.

Every component counts… the greater the investment the better it sounds (assuming you do your research).

@tjraubacher

Congratulations. It is likely you will enjoy the upgrade with your choice of the Hegel. Not sure the streamer is an upgrade… fingers crossed.

Tell us what you think when it is all assembled.

Typically cabling is chosen after you have had many hours of listening and know what you want from a cable. For instance, most of my interconnects, cables and power cords are $3K ($3 - 5K). I purchased them six months or a year after upgrading my components. I have had a some Nordost Odin 2 in my system for several weeks… they were unbelievable… I had a hard time giving them back. 

OP,

Please do not worry about some of the contradictory advice you got… particularly that from @perkadin. I am sure it is very well intended but is either not correct… or highly dependent.

As far as speakers. It is a rule of thumb that it is best to have speakers of above average cost per electronic component… but the reality is, great electronics will get the very best sound out of your speakers. I have been helping a friend build a system. Recently he ended up with a $13K Streamer / DAC, a $10K preamp and a $10K amp powering $800 KEF stand mountain speakers. Wow… it was simply great sounding. Ridiculous… I suppose… but they sounded amazing. Something I could enjoy and live with for a long time. Since then he got some $15K speakers. Does it sound better… yes, but the KEFs sounded quite amazing.

Most of us anre not rich, we build systems one step at a time. The important thing is to enjoy each step. You made a good step forward… and should feel great about it… like you will after spending time listening to it.

Rules of thumb are good ways to begin extensive research of professional reviews and auditioning of audio equipment. I listen to equipment inside my circle of interest as well as outside the circle to verify the validity of any generalizations I have made on a search or made from my previous experience. If there are errors in my generalizations, then I start over.

From here I get serious about auditioning and comparing options. In more recent decades I have had the luxury of often auditioning in my home with the rest of my equipment. I have one main system, a high end headphone system, an office system and a “burn in / experimental system (mostly Schiit). So, I am connected to multiple levels of investment.

So, over the last fifty years I have developed my methodology and repeatedly used it for upgrades. None of it is fixed in concrete. Out of this experience I have noticed the end products of my searches have tended to end at some particular configuration. So, this is where I came up with my rules of thumb. And they are just that… starting places that do not replace lots of research and auditioning, but are helpful to guide folks to optimal solutions.