Best return for the money, system upgrade suggestions please.

Unless your room is already done, 100% acoustic treatments! Check out GIK Acoustics stuff. No gear upgrade can match the sound per dollar spent on acoustics. Next would be speaker placement (free!)

I agree with previous posters- pay down your debt, but since you are intent on buying something (I've done the same thing long ago...), my 2c is to invest in room treatments like already suggested. I'm using Primacoustic and couldn't be happier. Remember, the room will give you 50% of what you will (or won't) hear. Best bang for the buck is room treatment.

Tom

OP:  Been there.  Here's what I would do: Take yourself and someone special out to dinner at the best restaurant in town and enjoy it with a great bottle of wine.  Use the remaining money to pay down your debt!

Hello,
The Cambridge AZUR 851N has been in my system for two days now, all I can say is WOW! I had no idea how much music I was missing! Plus with all of it's Streaming abilities, including TIDAL, I could not be happier, so much fun to play with it's features, blows away my older Cambridge DACMAGIC Plus. I really love this Hobby/Passion for reproducing great sounding music, however the price for entry can be cost prohibitive. I hope I don't get the bug to do any enhancements/upgrades for quite some time. After completing my Internship and hopefully landing a good job, I'll crank on paying off my loans and maybe save some coin for future updates. Until then I am quite happy now!

Thanks again, everybody!

GRM

Congratulations on your new purchase! Even better to be so happy with it. Wonderful when that happens!
Since you mentioned an internship, curious what career you've chosen?

Tom