Seeking Advice to Improve My Audio System ($1000 Budget)

@carlyleciv 

I realized that I forgot to mention that you should add the KC62 sub to the mix with either the LS50 Meta or the Maggies I mentioned. The KC62 sounds great and is fast. It is not a must but when added it takes the system to a better full-range sound.

I have not looked up the price of the Hegel H95, but I will repeat here that you should seriously consider the Schitt Wotan amp at $2k. It sounds as good as the much more expensive Hegels I have heard (with KEF Blades for example).  It has tremendous power, and I strongly believe it is as good as 3 $8k amps I owned (and sold). It just needs about 2 months of heavy play for the top end to settle.

Another amp that I loved with the LS50 Meta is the Benchmark AHB2. This amp can be gotten for about $2.5 or less. It is excellent with the LS50. This amp has a top end like no other. It is not warm-ish like the Wotan.

Both amps I mentioned have a home demo period if you buy from the manufacturer. The Benchmark LA4 preamp is what I have in my top system. I ended up with this one after going through a lot of preamps (up to $7k). The thing I like about the LA4 (or HPA4) preamps is that you do not hear it adding to the sound. The Kara F preamp I mentioned before is a good budget preamp but it adds a bit of warmth. the $2.5k LA4 preamp is as good as it gets for my tastes. Again, there is a home demo period with this preamp.

Here is a link to a post describing the AHB2 (I totally agree).

Review and Measurements of Benchmark AHB2 Amp | Page 5 | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum

Speakers and cart are typically the best places for upgrades.  There's been lots of discussion about speakers (and associated amp) so far, but a stylus upgrade is low hanging fruit.  The Rega Carbon MM is the same as the AT-3600L, and any stylus upgrade that will fit the 3600L will fit your Rega Carbon.  

A lot of folks here are ignoring your budget. I would suggest a good used integrated like the older PSAudio Spectral or the newer one that has the phono stage. For inexpensive speakers get the earlier used KEF LS50’s (not the Meta, much less & people dumped them to get the newer Meta). And wired, not wireless with good inexpensive cables like from BlueJean. The included DAC in the Spectrals is good. Forget the sub for now…the LS50’s will be fine for what you want. Believe me, I have done this in a moderate size space. A Project Phono Box or phono pre from Schiit is on the menu if you need it. And replacing your cartridge with a good Sumiko will help also. Don’t get too fancy and you can stat close to your price tange. I’d speak with the folks at TMR in Boulder.

I owned a pair of the KEF LS50’s and they are awesome speakers, however I think that the H95 is a bit underpowered for them. They are a challenging load for an amp and require some current. Hegel is still a good choice, but I would go used and try to go up the chain a bit. A used Musical Fidelity M6si is a decent choice as well.

@OP Carlyleciv - To answer your question about preamps in simple terms: the preamp is the part of the amplification chain that takes the input signals, allows switching between them and volume control, and passes the signal to the power amp, which is the part of the amp that creates enough power to drive speakers. Those two parts can be separated - pre/power, or integrated. Many integrated amps include a phono stage. This is required for vinyl playback because the output of a cartridge is lowere than that of a CD player and phono also requires specific frequency equalisation because of the way records are cut compared to CD.

Your one K budget is tight, but you can get a decent integrated amp like a Rotel A8 for under five hundred dollars. It's a properly engineered amplifier that sounds good. As a few posters have said above, the Kef LS 50 is an outstanding speaker though it really needs a more expensive amp to drive it. But if you could find a used pair they would still be a good buy. Buying new, you can get something like a Wharfdale Diamond, along with the Rotel for within your budget and have money left for some decent speaker cables.

If you can sell on your existing speakers, the next priority would be speaker stands, followed by an upgrade for the Rega Carbon cartridge.

I used to sell a lot of these type of entry level systems back in the eighties, but the recipe of a Rega with a decent integrated amp and a pair of stand mounted bookshelf speakers still hasn't changed, both to deliver good sound in itself and as the first stepping stone on the path to even better sound.