So what would you recommend for my next upgrade?

Ptss - I did replace my older MITs with inexpensive Blue Jeans cables which made for a much easier routing scheme...but there wasn't much difference in the sound. As I've mentioned before the MITs are a real pain in my set up.

My Tonearm was rewired with Cardas a few years ago. I'm wondering if I should be considering using Cardas from the TT to the phono amp for consistency?

Zd542 - thanks...what phono amp would you think would be synergistic in my system?

OK, just got out of the real world and OMG, lots of opportunity here! So to summarize:'

- Czarivey - yeah, I know, digial's the future. I do have plenty of storage (~6 TB), a fast connection and the itch but I'm a little hesitant to jump into another SW medium. Stand by.

- Almarg - got a cleaning machine...my wife surprised me with it one Christmas...isn't that cool? 'course it has to stay in the basement...like me.

- Donno what MAGICO is . . . should I care?

- Mesch - Oh really? OK, I don't recall much about the Zu wires from when I bought them . . . but I take it they are acceptable. Ordered a set of (don't gasp) short Blue Jeans just for fun today. And, yep, the room is going to get trashed over the next 90 days, so I'm bidding (sp?) my time. But plan to do adjustments by ear, not with some sort of room analysis device/software....more fun.

- Minorl - OK, that's really interesting. The MIT's seem really OK but are a major structural pain-in-the-arse. I'd love to pare down the system physically so something without the big "network" boxes would be nice. The Transparent audio cables are something I will look into. Since I have Thiel ("take no prisoners") speakers, it's hard to know what might work with them. On CDs, hard to borrow around here in sophisticated New Hampshire but I'll see. And I'm not keen on buy and return...seems dishonest. Not sure how to explore that...of if I want to chase CDs, yet.

- Mapman - Ah Mapman, great to hear from you again. I do have a record vac but tend to be lazy about using it. Also, the fluid I've bought in the past evaporated. When I Googled (a verb!) DIY stuff...the recommendations read more like some sort of secret chemical weapon.

Now (once again), I never thought of a backup cartridge. What a great excuse. Could use some recommendations! Has the advantage of coming in a small package that my "significant other" would spot as above my pay grade...unlike a set of Thiel 2.3s.

- Lowrider57 - uh, only use isolution stuff on the turntable but it seems so expensive for such little hardware. I just built a custom table for the system - kinda like what the reviewer 6moons has - so isolators would be a logical next step. Any recommendations on what and where to buy?

- Tbromgard - kinda a big field "phono pre"...any more specific...and why?

Thanks everyone, as always.

Gslone - got a vac cleaner so am starting to use.

Courant - I do have a couple ADCs but not sure what to do with them. The records I want to transcribe are, so far, limited. Don't know what if anything else they buy me.....?

No one's suggested an alternative to my NAD phono pre yet ... ?

So Mensch & Williewonka, thanks.

Looks like I've got some work/play to do here. I'm not sure if I can do justice to your suggestions until our construction project is done (90 days) but once that's in place, it will certainly be worth the effort.

Of course, my near term upgrade budget is a bit less than the sum of what you recommend. I assume that will always be the case . . . Oh well.

I have a Bottlehead pre that has some hum to it. Sounds like its time to get out the soldering iron and fix it. At least before I make a major commitment.

Jperry - well "bigger steps" is an understatement. Hold on a minute while I catch my breath...:8) Not to be timid (I suddenly am) but TT + arm + cart + phono pre are probably well past my courage level not to mention my near term investment limit.

However, the cart + pre was, in fact, my thinking recently. But the challenge for me is how the heck do you do system matching with cartridges & preamps? There's very little in the way of shops up here in NH so component tryouts are really a challenge. Any reputable online places that will do business that way?

A couple of you have asked about my current amp (Bryston B60) or suggested something more powerful would be worth pursuing. I had, for a while, their bigger amp (3b) using it with several well regarded preamps. It never really floated my boat as it were. That may have been set up and room tuning, not sure. I don't listen loud very often. Like most people, I enjoy some lower end richness but recently - with my new near field setup - both the sparkle I'm hearing and the almost magical sound staging have been a real pleasure. I'm curious what, if anything, a more powerful amp might bring to the party. As always, thanks for the wisdom....

There seems to be a growing consensus about the opportunity I have in my analog setup and I agree. I did a quick comparison this afternoon using an identical CD & vinyl of an recording I know well and was surprised to discover the CD sounded better. (I also inserted my Bottlehead pre into the system for a couple hours - it was a quiet day - and when I switched back to all SS, I was again surprised, it hadn't added much to mix.)

Given that and my continuing aquisition of records (& all your comments), I'm going to go after both a new cartridge and phono pre, the latter first. Mesch has intuited the price point I can stand so that's where I'll be looking. I appreciate the suggestions and any others folks might have (with associated "why"s). I sense there are also lots of new players in the business since I last looked a few years ago.

Thanks again for your recommendations!

Ws_trader - Currently my only tube unit is the Bottlehead pre. While I have a variety of tubes for it, my A/B comparisons (versus the SS Bryston) have not been very impressive. I do have a tube phono preamp on order and just upgraded my speakers so things are improving rapidly. I am thinking a next step is a cartridge that will complement my vinyl enrichment goals.

Mesch - I upgraded my Thiel 1.5s (which I loved) to 1.6s. frankly, I was shocked at the richer sound. Didn't anticipate it to be so distinct. I have some high freq hearing loss so the border line brightness that Thiels have is, for me, just right...at least that's my theory. And on the suggestion of several folks here, I'm trying out a Jolida phono pre. Hoping it will be a clear step up from my NAD. It arrives Friday. Oh yes, I also checked the set up on my TT and found it off quite a bit (level & stylus pressure). Sounded markedly better...duh.

Mesch, thanks for all your help. The Jolida was supposed to arrive today but the weather here in NH is . . . well, the weather. Spent the day cleaning records. Excited I am.