New preamp or up grade my cartridge and or phono amp?

OP, “…Though I have a friend who went that route and his listening room wound up isolating him from the rest of the household.”

That sounds like a fantastic advantage! That is worth it by itself. 😊 oh, sorry, most audiophiles are recluses… typically the household doesn’t join in, but tell you to turn that off or put on the news. My partner is happy she can send me to my audio room and not subject her to it. She loves music, and comes down to listen for about ten minutes every decade. But there are exceptions.

I personally would prefer a small dedicated audio room for my system than the enormous compromises made for a common room. Some of the most amazing systems I have heard have been in tiny rooms. The great thing is that you can purchase higher quality gear of lower output and with room treatments and setup achieve MUCH better sound in a small dedicated room.

@soix

+1

Given your current selection, I would start with a good quality preamp, then move to a better phonostage.