Streamer vs. Cart upgrade (here we go again…)

A few years ago, I traded in my turntable to focus on getting a better streaming sound. I spent a lot of effort and money on the digital side, but wasn’t fully satisfied and still yearned for the vinyl sound that I heard on other people’s often quite modest systems.

Last year, I got a new turntable as outlined in my virtual system. Now, I much prefer playing vinyl records.

You can’t say one format is best because they all have there own strengths and weaknesses. Also, the quality of the mastering in each case is very important. If you can afford it, you really need both to cover all the bases. 

I sometimes listen to ripped CDs, etc and Qobuz. Yet I find vinyl to be the absolute pinnacle for sound quality. Unlike the other formats, I sit listening for hours enthralled. There’s something magical about it - it is sublime.

No brainer.  Bluetooth sucks.  Comparing analog to Bluetooth is like comparing a 67 Mustang Convertible to a Yugo rusting away in a trash heap

You post on a digital forum, you will get votes on streamer, you post on the analog forum, you will get votes on cart upgrade. It did seem like you had made up your mind and hence posted on the digital forum :)

That's how most people make decisions anyways.

I went the other way compared some of the gents here. I sold my very expensive DAC to focus on vinyl, wrote about it here: https://audiofool.substack.com/p/why-i-sold-my-50000-dac-part-one

Wonder if I made the right choice, I will soon learn.

In the end I can say my large investment into vinyl has been pretty much a waste as it and over 3k albums sit there all forlorn and unused. 

While it took me many years and much effort, my streaming setup  easily equals or surpasses my vinyl setup. With easy and cheap access to literally every recording I could ever dream of owning whats not to like! Unfortunately, quality streaming setup not cheap, but then same goes for vinyl or any source.

You didn't state what service you use for streaming. But BT is about the worst quality you can get. Your TT & Cart are good, so invest in the streaming side. 

If you use Tida/Qobuz make sure you streamer will support it natively, meaning it will stream from the streamer, and your phone will just mirror/control the streamer. 

$2k will get you a nice streamer, with your other gear, think Cambridge Audio will sound very good. My system has Forte II's with a CA streamer it sounds just as good as my TT.