Which to Upgrade first? My Amplifier or Speakers?


I have owned a nice system for years, but I am hardly an audiophile. You people impress me with your depth of knowledge of audio. I've been following this site for some time. This is my first post.
From time to time I replace or upgrade components. I've got a tricked out Linn Sondek LP 12 turntable. I recently acquired a McIntosh MP 100 phono amp and am hearing LP's now that exceed anything I've heard on CD's and equal if not exceed the output of my SACD's. I bring this up only to give a flavor of what I listen to.
The issue is as follows: I have a McIntosh MC 206 Amp that I bought in 2003 that puts out 200 watts per channel. I have no issues with it, although I've never had anything to compare it with. I've read some impressive reviews of how much of a difference an amplifier can make to the quality of sound output. For speakers I have Magnepan 3.6R's that I also bought in 2003. I love them. I can only afford to upgrade one at a time - let's say in the neighborhood of 10 - 12K. So, I'd like to hear what this august body has to say about which I should upgrade first and why? The amp or the speakers? Thank you.
normantaylor

Showing 2 responses by asvjerry

....just wandering by...

I’ll vote with @erik_squires ....but one can be subtle about it. Dipoles like Maggie’s deserve that...;)

Adding a sub could also be an easy +...but MHO, you ought to be able to ’do’ a better ’sub-weight’ than a barbell weight. (Unless you already ’do' weight training...*shrug*)  A nicely wrought box, matching the top dimensions of the unit as well as the finish would have a nice esthetic. Fill it with as much lead shot as desired...

You might look into active eq...that in itself can accomplish amazing results without having to get ’heavy handed’ about it, either.

If you love what you’re running now, minor tweaks vs. major moves seems more the way to go....beats ’buyer’s remorse’, too.

We all read about That a lot around here...probably more than we should. ;)
...as for interconnects, power cables, all that....

Read the existing forums first before pulling That trigger....
See what's already getting attached to Maggie's and Mac's already and place your bet thereby....

(Copy someone else's homework...*L*  Nice, old tradition, that.)