Nice to have the stuff and the means. I pretty much agree with Nsgarch, with only one or two small deviations.
I would work backwards from the speakers - speaker cables 1st, pre-amp to amp IC's next, source IC's and lastly PC's, for pretty much the same reasons that Nsgarch set out. I would do this slowly, one stage at a time, so I could fully assess the impact of the cables in your system, and what if anything appeared to need improvement.
Same brand is good if you are seeking neutrality and the brand you select provides that, or if you are seeking warmth and the brand typically provides that, but if you have problems, for what ever reason, and your looking to modify the tonal balance of your system, keep an open mind about other brands that have a reputation of changing the tonal balance to get what you need.
And, at your level don't buy 'til you listen to the cables/IC's in your system. With the resolution that your system will provide you should really be able to hear differences (I assume) that others may have glossed over or which may not have been important to them.
The other thing to remember is the old caveat that you only get what you pay for IF YOU ARE LUCKY. A big price tag doesn't guarantee you'll get what you need.
Good luck
(Pompous) Polonius :-)
I would work backwards from the speakers - speaker cables 1st, pre-amp to amp IC's next, source IC's and lastly PC's, for pretty much the same reasons that Nsgarch set out. I would do this slowly, one stage at a time, so I could fully assess the impact of the cables in your system, and what if anything appeared to need improvement.
Same brand is good if you are seeking neutrality and the brand you select provides that, or if you are seeking warmth and the brand typically provides that, but if you have problems, for what ever reason, and your looking to modify the tonal balance of your system, keep an open mind about other brands that have a reputation of changing the tonal balance to get what you need.
And, at your level don't buy 'til you listen to the cables/IC's in your system. With the resolution that your system will provide you should really be able to hear differences (I assume) that others may have glossed over or which may not have been important to them.
The other thing to remember is the old caveat that you only get what you pay for IF YOU ARE LUCKY. A big price tag doesn't guarantee you'll get what you need.
Good luck
(Pompous) Polonius :-)