I've owned many of the same items so I can give a few ideas. These are gear I'm using and feel no need to upgrade from:
Zu Denon DL-103R cart- after trying MM carts 2Xmore$$ than the Denon, a quality MC is a big leap ahead.
Edensound Bearpaw Jr. Brass feet- tapped to fit the 3 studs under the MMF 5.1 table for around $100 the improvement is HUGE over the plastic feet.
Monitor Audio GS-20 towers- you'll never look back.
Jolida JD-9a tube phono pre- Stock unit sounds bad but I did the mods myself: Claritycaps, power cable, tubes, opamps & damping + 100hrs burn in = something special.
Hafler 9270 amp- I get what you said yourself: SS character w/ "tube" warmth -plus higher wattage.
Parasound 2100 preamp- clean, neutral, very nice SS MM/MC phono pre built-in, HT bypass, imaging and soundstaging 2nd to none.
Valab (ebay) silver plated OFC interconnects, power & speaker cables.
Have fun!

donellis May 27, 2010 05:04

System edited: New Pics

jimbojrjb May 11, 2010 13:30

System edited: Giving some British Monitors a try for a while. So far so good with regard to detail and timing. Very open presentation for a box speaker. New pics coming soon.

jimbojrjb May 04, 2010 13:28

System edited: New house, new room, new sound.......I'm begining to understand that the "room" is the most crucial part of the equation.

jimbojrjb March 17, 2010 19:14

Put speakers on short wall.
3 feet from back wall
and 2 1/2 feet from side walls
have sub cross as you currently do
equipment in middle is ok
your stand is your weakness

vernneal March 08, 2010 21:41

We are finally moving and I will have a whole new set of challanges to deal with. The new room will be 12' x 14' with 20' ceiling. Any tips?

jimbojrjb March 08, 2010 15:33

System edited: New Pics

jimbojrjb February 28, 2010 18:48

Got the Music Hall 5.1 and am very happy so far. Much more open sound and tuneful bass.

jimbojrjb February 24, 2010 23:21

System edited: New Music Hall 5.1 will be added this week.

jimbojrjb February 16, 2010 01:11

The room is a little bigger than it looks, but still is a little cramped. it's 10' wide x 19' long. The Maggies are so good, they still sound better than any speaker I have auditioned before.

jimbojrjb February 16, 2010 01:07

music, i like jazz ...listen to hudson project... it is live and great.i like your system ,i love maggies...they are my favorite speakers but i dont have the room for them, i see you making them work foryou....i could own them if i wanted listening in a 10X10 room, now listening to era monitors which are sweet for me...i try to listen at nearfield to take the room out of the system...

dwhitt February 15, 2010 20:49

small room for those speakers

vernneal February 15, 2010 14:44

Darkkeys, They are 2.5 feet from the side walls and 4 feet from the rear walls. I get great imaging from this and the tonal qualities are amazing. So far I am more than impressed.

jimbojrjb February 14, 2010 23:49

How far are your Maggies' from the side and rear walls if I may ask? I am interested in the new 1.7's. Thanks.

darkkeys February 13, 2010 21:16

Your on the right track but I believe you would improve sonics by using isoblocks and brass footers for the rest of your system components as well. You can pull the isoblocks apart if you want to make them go farther. I use them to isolate my TT motor and have four of them under my Logitech Duet receiver (not in any pictures of my system but they are there) and amp plinth. Also, I use a subwoofer in my system regardless of which type of speakers. I've never had any problems integrating the sub with my system. The Maggies will definitely benefit and your enjoyment will go way up. Happy listening.

cio52 February 13, 2010 16:22