I think that a Phono preamp upgrade is a good suggestion.
I would look for a used Graham Slee - Era Gold V Phono Preamplifier. It’s about $900 new, but has been around for years, so you should be able to find one in your price range. I used one for a few months with a very high end preamp and I was really impressed at what a good job it did. A couple of visiting audiophiles quite liked it as well (especially for the money!).
Another good phono preamp is the Musical Surroundings Phenomena II. There is a more expensive version out now, the II+ at $800 new, so the older model should be easy to find in your budget. I used it with a Dynavector 20X2Lo and it did a nice job.
The nice part about buying an external phono stage is that it isn’t too hard to sell if you change your mind. Probably tough to sell that NAD module if you don’t like it.
Good luck with your decision!
I would look for a used Graham Slee - Era Gold V Phono Preamplifier. It’s about $900 new, but has been around for years, so you should be able to find one in your price range. I used one for a few months with a very high end preamp and I was really impressed at what a good job it did. A couple of visiting audiophiles quite liked it as well (especially for the money!).
Another good phono preamp is the Musical Surroundings Phenomena II. There is a more expensive version out now, the II+ at $800 new, so the older model should be easy to find in your budget. I used it with a Dynavector 20X2Lo and it did a nice job.
The nice part about buying an external phono stage is that it isn’t too hard to sell if you change your mind. Probably tough to sell that NAD module if you don’t like it.
Good luck with your decision!