Which to upgrade first: Turntable or Phono Preamp

Thanks for all the suggestions so far.   I might be leaning towards phono stage first.  Part of the reason is that I don't have a lot of understanding of how much does a turntable matter.   In my mind, the cartridge matters more than a turntable in terms of SQ, as long as the TT has reasonably low noise level and tracks well enough.  But I can be wrong.

I have heard about Herron.   Seems to have some good reviews in this forum.   I will give it a serious look.   I do like the PS Audio 30 days home trail.   Fairly low risk.   Thanks!

Hey @ml8764ag Glad to know you love your PHO 701. I’m not entirely unhappy with it. One thing I wish it can do better is the noise floor. I wish it was quieter. I bought a NOS RCA tube and it sounds a little nicer than the stock one, also seems a little warmer.

My issue is that the PHO 701 is my first ever phono stage. I’m curious to see if I can do better. Also, on the digital side, I have a Lumin T2 streamer/DAC, and I think it sounds better than my analog set up. It has a quieter background and a bigger sound stage. Although my analog setup sounds a little more intimate. I guess I want to see if I can improve on my analog set up to ’compete’ with my digital set up. Sounds silly, isn’t it? :-)

Looks like most people think it’s better to upgrade the phono stage first. Will post back if I do make a change. Thanks again!

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.  There are very good comments from both sides.  Now I have some homework to do.   Will post back if I do make a change.  Thanks again!

Thanks @avanti1960 .  There are quite a few recommendation of the Technics turntable.   I love the detachable head shell and speed control.   The first turntable I ever got in the late 70's was a Pioneer with similar design: direct drive, detachable head shell, and speed control.

I read that direct drive turntable tends to be noisy because of the motor directly driving the platter.   There are also reviews that shun detachable head shells.   How has your experience been in regards to motor noise on the Technics?   

Thanks.

Hi @truex14.   Thanks for reminding me to come back to this post.   I've been meaning to do it, but was being lazy.  

Anyway,  I've decided to go with upgrading the phono stage first.  I have auditioned 3 phono stages, and let me share my experience here.   The 3 phono stages are PS Audio Stellar,  Parasound JC3+, and Herron VTPH-2A:

PS Audio Stellar:   This is the least expensive of the 3 phono stages, plus with the trade in of my Vincent PHO 701, it's an incredible deal.   The Stellar probably sounds the most "exciting or lively" out of the 3.  Very forward sounding.   Very quiet background.  Decent sound stage and bass.  Probably a little more analytical sounding than the other 2.  

Parasound JC3+:  My first impression of the sound was 'silky smooth'. Also very quiet.   Good bass response, with a good punchiness.  Not super punchy, but I did like the bass.   Great open sound stage.  Not as exciting sounding as the Stellar, but more musical and easy to listen to.

Herron VTPH-2A:  The Herron is just a tiny bit less quiet than the other 2, but still very quiet.  I wonder if it is due to the nature of tube amp never going to be as quiet as solid state.   Just my unscientific guess.   I would describe the sound as very neutral and natural with a bit of warmth.   I feel like I'm listening to the music and not the phono preamp.   Maybe not as silky smooth, or as punchy as the JC3+,  but does sound more musical.  a tad warmer, with better sound stage and details.   I'm talking about very small difference here comparing to the JC3+.

At the end,  I have decided to keep the Herron.   It was a very close call between the Herron and the JC3+.   I can easily be just as happy with the JC3+, had I not heard the Herron.   The Stellar is not a bad sounding preamp,  I can probably live with this also, had I not heard the other 2.  In my opinion, all 3 phono stages are very good.  In the end, it comes down to personal taste.   Now that I've owned the Herron for about 2 months, it continues to sound so natural that I really feel that it has disappeared from my analog pipeline. 

I'm very happy with my decision to go with the Herron.   I have never heard of the Herron until it was mentioned here.   There are not a lot of professional reviews out there, but there is certainly a huge fan base in this forum, to a point that makes this a legendary product.   I'm glad I was able to purchase one of the very last VTPH-2A.   Keith Herron had mentioned to me that he will no longer build any more of this phono stage.   I feel like I'm owning a collectible item. 

On the turntable side,  I have recently decided to purchase the Mofi Ultradeck with the Master Tracker MM cartridge.   So far I'm very happy with it.    It sounds very open and detail.   More quiet than the Project Classic.    Definitely an improvement.   One thing I really don't like about the Project is the tonearm.  it is very finicky.   Every time I lower or raise the tonearm,  it never goes straight up or down.  It always drift to outer edge of the LP.   I wonder if it is related to the Anti-skating mechanism.  I tried different settings and it still behaves the same.  Anyway,  I haven't even tried the Mofi with my Hana ML cartridge yet.   I think the Master Tracker is doing a pretty good job.

Anyone here owns a Mofi Ultradeck?  I would like to hear your experience also.

Hope this helps.   Thanks everyone for their suggestions and opinions.  I have purchased a few components here based on the information I found in this forum.   Thanks again.