Amp or speakers?

[aTALLasian]

Which would be provide the most gain to my modest vinyl setup? I have reached a point with my turntable where I feel that investing more money into it will yield little return when the rest of my system is very lack luster. I'm not looking to spend a fortune, but I'm also looking for something that will provide enjoyment for sometime down the road. Probably somewhere sub $1k right now for either amp or speakers or both. Is this a reasonable budget or should I save up a bit? I honestly know very little about either at this point other than tube amps are generally more expensive than ss.

Current setup:

Rega Planar 3, GT subplatter, TTPSU, dual pulley w/ white belts, Ortofon OM20 cart
Harmon Kardon hk330i receiver
Technics sb lv-3?? speakers

Everything, including the original turntable is a hand me down, but I've invested some getting that up to spec. My biggest complaint is the lack of bass resolution and depth. I listen to a lot of blues with the occasional funk or hard rock album - and while I don't need hip hop/club levels of bass - what I have now sounds very thin.

So where should I start, amp or speakers?

Cheers in advance!

[Wasatch]

I know it's more then you want to spend, but look into the Rega integrated amp and speakers.

[analogaudio]

speakers make the biggest difference to sound quality, much bigger difference than changing electronics, I would save my money for speakers, for more bass try bigger speakers, simple physics, big drivers move more air.

Having said that I just checked the spec of the Harman unit, 20WPC is not a lot if you want serious bass you want some more Watts, unless you go for high efficiency speakers like horns.

Ted

[Alec124c41]

I had one of those HK receivers. I paired it with some 2-way (7" woofer ported, 2" tweeter) speakers, and it really sounded good.
I don't know your speakers, but they would be the weak link.
Listen to some Paradigm Titans. I picked up a pair of used bookshelf size, and the sound is very good, so you can go from there.
There are many others, but I am not familiar with what is on the market these days.

Cheers,
Alec

[kimchi]

I'd upgrade those speakers first. If you replace them with something that's at least moderately efficient, you can keep using your HK.

[JoeE SP9]

Upgrade your speakers!

[kelvinMunson]

Speakers !

[satanfriendly]

In this case (and against my religion) - Speakers

[aTALLasian]

Excellent stuff guys. Looks like I have to start searching for speakers. Will my selection be limited by my receiver? Again, I'm new to this so I'm not sure if what I have will power anything semi-serious. Any recommendations under $1k used?

[youngdand]

Plently. Thats a fair size speaker budget.

[avole]

You need speakers that are easy to drive. Output from the amp is only 20W.

[youngdand]

The US folk will know your market better than me. but you have a few options for that budget, including a bookshelf, and sub combination.

[youngdand]

Klipsh make some nice horn speakers which may suit your low output reciever as they are very efficiant.

[Rothwellaudio]

It's difficult to give very good advice without seeing/hearing your system, but you could experiment with speaker positioning before reaching for your wallet. The distance between the speakers, the distance between the speakers and the floor, the distance between the speakers and the back/side walls all have a huge effect on the perceived sound, particularly the bass.
My experience is that different speakers offer noticeably different tonal balances and can have a big impact on the overall presentation of the big picture. However, when it comes to the details (revealing overdubs, resolving a sense of space, separating instruments so that they're heard clearly etc.), good electronics are required.