Bob — Just came through a similar dilemma (in my case, a few extra bucks to spend; nowhere near retirement; and pre-Covid by a few weeks). Existing system was very strong, but I decided one can always have a better cart and phonostage, and — other than speakers — those two items can make a bigger difference than a TT, assuming your existing TT is high caliber already, and assuming you spend a good percentage of time listening to vinyl. I went from a Kiseki Purple Heart to a Lyra Etna and from a Gryphon Sonett to a Audio Research REF 3 phonostage. Blew my mind how much improvement that brought. The ARC can be found used and they’re basically bulletproof other than the tubes. I highly highly recommend this option. (Also, I’ve skipped many of the responses above, so apologies for any repetition or missing something you may have clarified.)
What to upgrade to?
I will be retiring at the end of the year or earlier depending on the Covid virus. Anyway I am looking for that last upgrade to my system. I will be looking at either upgrading my analog system or loudspeaker. I have about 10k in a complete turntable and my speakers retailed for 12k about 5 years. Both I could live with in retirement and be quite happy. But I have $15k - $20k to spend if I want to on either upgrading my turntable or speakers. What would you upgrade? Turntable or speakers?