Wish to Upgrade Phono Stage and Cart

I would give my left nut to have a P10...Anything else would be gravy.

I would give my left nut to have a P10...Anything else would be gravy.

need time machine to go back before I read this :)

I thought about the Evo 100. Like the brand. But does it even compete with my Allnic H5500? Like the Aura, which is a solid state device, would it be an upgrade? Certainly, the Aphelion cart would be an upgrade.

With my busy lifestyle, often, I warm my system and never get to hear a song. I feel bad for my tubes. So there's that. 

Minus K platform is out of our budget, but thanks for the knowledge as, my Rega is sitting on maple which is sitting on glass.

"But does it even compete with my Allnic H5500?"

I'm curious if the retail difference($2k) is justified.

Performance- I would guess the PL would at minimum be competent with any setup the Allnic served, except for the additional gain it has? 

Allnic wins with more cartridge choice and multi arm setup. Likely it also would win the idle/volume cranked noise contest, since the PL is tube MC gain.

Arguably the PL with tube/cable tweaking/system synergy, might approach something 2X MSRP?

Used 5500's are going for low $4K/high 3's. If I found one at the time I picked up the PL, I would have one. I found the lightly used PL at 40% off MSRP. 

Preamp or cart first? Maybe if cart first, then decide which way sonically you wish to go.  There are so many great cartridge choices - Ortofon, Lyra, Soundsmith, Audio Technica.....  If you plan to try different cartridges, then maybe phono-preamp first.