Advise please for best system upgrade under $2,000

Option D and C will be the most effective for the amount you will want to spend for the upgrades, and they will also make the most noticable sound difference.

First Sound preamps have not remote, but they do offer a tape loop for your Video application needs. Its lack of remote is made up with really great volume control using holcro resistor controls. Remote volume controls add a veil to the sound that can be really difficult to compensate even with the convenience of a remote. Of course, you need to hear this sort of distortion in order to get a clear understanding of the sonic comprises between remote or high quality control.

Good luck in your task.

if you are looking for a tube pre with theatre out... would suggest the pse hl-1...really rare preamp. has remote(motor driven) and takes 2-6922/7308...

great sounding unit but really, really hard to find. they go for $1000-$1400.

pse is located a stones throw from audio research and maganapan... needless to say....maggies sound very, very good with pse gear(the studio V monoblocks are a great match) if you are unsure about pse- call magnapan and ask about pse.

Buy more music, you system is good enough.

Noble100, Address your room, you'll be much farther ahead in the game. Ever heard the saying "if ain't broke don't fix" well this is the road your going down IMO. Is your equipment broken? no it's not so why blow $2000. You can treat your room within that budget and you'll have a room that can rival many. Look at the room being the broken part, take a crappy system and put it in a crappy room, you get crappy sound, now take a good system and put it into a crappy room and what do you have? more crap and more broke!! Most rooms if not all need some type of room treatments and your room is no different, some need more and some less. A good place to start is with the Rives web site as there is gobs of info to take you as far as you want to go. They have many links to suppliers of treatments that will further your education. One thing I've learned with high end audio is if you spend ten times more for a component you don't get ten times better sound!!!
Just my 2 pennies worth and Happy Holidays to all.

I'll start by improving the room and cables and then go from there. Although I'm curious to see how tubes might help and it is fun to experiment. But I agree we need to recognize that more $$$ doesn't equal better music or sound. Thanks all.