Thoughts on a system upgrade.


I have been following and enjoying the posts on Audiogon for about six months now and am posting for the first time looking for advise and ideas on what to do next with my system. I would consider myself a budget Audiophile although some of you may have a different opinion of my self assigned classification. 

I am looking for ideas on improving the weak link(s) in my system possibly with replacing one component and am looking to invest approximately another $2500. I also understand that I could use many smaller improvement tweaks and welcome all comments. 

My system is in a 14’ x 14’ room with a 12’ ceiling. My speakers are about 12’ apart and my primary listening position is centered at the 12’ point of the triangle from the speakers and consists of the following.

PS Audio Stellar Gain Cell Preamplifier/DAC

Music Hall MMF-5 Turntable with Hana EL MC Low Output Cartridge

Clearaudio Smart Phonostage V2

Bluesound Node 2i 

Nakamichi MB-10 CD Player

The Power Cables on the electronics above are a combination of Shunyata Yenom 3 and V14, and Audioquest NRG-Y2. Interconnect Cables are a combination of Pangea Premier and Premier SE. 

The electronics are housed on the wall to the right of the speaker wall on the top half of a very heavy two piece wall unit. I have no options to move them anywhere else.

The electrical outlets are on a dedicated line to the breaker box with standard household wiring. 

PS Audio Stellar S300 Power Amp positioned to the center of Vandersteen Treo speakers and connected with Bluejeans-Belden 12 AWG speaker cables. The Amp is connected to the Preamplifier with 22’ Bluejeans-Belden XLR Balanced Interconnects. The Amp is positioned on the bottom shelf of an end table with a Butcher Block Acoustics platform. I don’t have an option for a dedicated Amp Stand.

The Amp is connected to the wall outlet and a Furman 215A Conditioner with Audioquest NRG-4 Power Cables.

I listen to Classic Rock, Progressive Rock, and Americana for the most part and occasionally Jazz and Classical. Vinyl when in a serious listening mood and CD’s and Streaming for exploring and convenience.

I have been considering upgrading my TT to a Clearaudio Concept w/Satisfy Tonearm and a Hana Shibata MC Cartridge. I’m not actually sure if the TT is the weak link in my system so welcome comments. 

 I’ve read many times on this forum that your ears are the best test of what sounds good and mine are quite happy but I have the bug to keep improving and as a friend of mine says it’s a slippery slope.

With that said I welcome comments and I hope I have given enough detail as I will not be available real time to answer any question. Thanks to everyone.



128x128relayer101
Thank you to millercarbon for the response and advice. For a start I am going to look into adding the BDR Cones and Discs and Ceramic Cable Elevators in addition to some of the other tweaks that you have mentioned. Adding the sub-woofers is something that hadn't crossed my mind and I will be looking into that in the future. Thanks.
jjss49, Thanks for the response. I guess since I don't have anything to compare to on what could be improved in the sound of my system I am just searching for ideas from looking just at the hardware alone. 
I appreciate your comment and may just look to the tweaks mentioned above for now and see where it takes me. 
Not a single mention of ROOM ACOUSTICS,from OP or repliers...If the room acoustics isn't balanced no tweak or component upgrade will matter...
I had another response asking if I had tried connecting power from the Amp directly to the wall outlet and I did and did not notice any difference in the sound. Using the power conditioner is more of a concern about power surges as some of my neighbors had lost electronics from nearby lightning strikes. Not sure if it would help but it's there just in case and does not appear to degrade the sound.
Another comment was in reference to the Interconnect Cables and Speaker Cables and that they may be one of the weaker links in the system so I may look at some higher quality cables also. 
Thank you for the suggestions.

freedriver, thanks for the response. I agree that Room Acoustics could definitely help but they would need to be on the inconspicuous side as my system is in a room that is not always a dedicated audio room. 
I appreciate the suggestion.