I had the same decision to make 2 years back as my old turntable died. But I upgraded my Speakers first and glad I did. Although I have a good 150 albums, I finally did upgrade to a nice table, but I really have found I don’t listen to vinyl as much as I used too. Not sure where you live but I had about the same choice of speakers to listen too. I also find the BW a bit too bright/forward, and went with Harbeth, which of course some find too laid back. I really liked the Magico a lot, but just couldn’t fit them in the room. Hope my experience helps.
My Next Upgrade: Speakers or Turntable?
Planning an upgrade this year. Initially was planning to purchase a turntable so I can finally play the small collection of vinyl I have. But wondering if I should prioritize a speaker upgrade first. Here is my situation:
I have a Gryphon Diablo 300 with an internal DAC and phono card, connected to B&W 803 D2 speakers. Clarus Crimson power cords (will be upgrading) and AudioQuest Hurricane powering my InnuOS Zenith MKIII streamer and Roon Core. Clarus Crimson biwire, but have Nordost Valhalla 2’s on order.
It took me years to get to this point where I am very satisfied with the overall sound. Happy with the overall tone/voice which is clearly driven by the Gryphon, and I enjoy the musicality of the system. Also the speakers when driven by the Gryphon are incredibly unfussy with positioning, and have good off-axis performance when outside of the sweet spot. Very easy to listen to.
That said, I have heard what newer higher end speakers can do when driven by the Diablo 300. More transparency, more holographic soundstage, more air, more dynamics, and better presence and bass for my large-ish room.
I’d consider a VPI Prime 21 Plus or Signature for the turntable. For the speakers, I’d consider Magico A5’s or others in this budget range that I would audition in my area (Dynaudio, Wilson, Monitor, Paradigm, Audiovector, Harbeth - don’t bother listing others I should consider because this is all that is really available where I am! Also B&W are out as I find them too mid-forward without enough bass)
I can only do one of the upgrades this year. On one hand I would love to get into my vinyls finally, for a lesser expense than the speakers, or I can upgrade my speakers and seriously upgrade the overall sonic performance of my system. Also of note, I hear that lead times for speakers are 6-9 months these days. Maybe the same for turntables though. If you were in my shoes, which way would you go? On one hand I feel like the speakers may be the priority, since the lower cost of the turntable makes it an easier upgrade later…