Upgrade the turntable and arm first with a good cartridge. The VPI Aries is a good choice. I have the Aries and 10.0 with Shure V15vxMR and no complaints. There are better cartridges than my Shure, like the Sumiko Blackbird and others at 600-800.00, but the Shure sings pretty good. If you want the best Aries, get the extended Aries with the 12.5 which pushes what I have a bit farther. Also, get the VPI tonearm cable. You can also the AR HT130 for a budget tonearm cable which is very good, but a bit lean for 25.00 or so. Or, you can get a Cardas Neutral Reference which is outstanding. The Golden Reference is great sounding but can hum as a tonearm cable. Good luck, jallen
Upgrade turntable or preamp next?
I just bought the Vandersteen 3A sigs and the Bel Canto Evo 2 amp. I already have a Conrad Johnson PV 12 preamp with phono stage which I bought new in 1997 and a VPI HW 19 Jr turntable which I bought new the same year. I play lots of records, but also listen to cds at home about 25% of the time. I've been thinking about either buying a Supratek preamp next or getting a better turntable in the 3,000-4,000 dollar range. Which do you think would have the most positive effect on the system? In other words, which is my weakest link? Thanks for your help.