Simon,
Thanks for your comments. My Airy III Silver SB is nearing break in. I love it. I also just installed the Linn Silver tonearm cable after sending it to Cello for burn in. I like it a lot too.
I've got a lot of 6SN7's and surprisingly the best pair I have are Radio Shack Lifetime Gold Pins that were NOS and made in Japan. I honestly don't have a clue who made them but boy are they quiet and sound very nice. My phono stage tubes are noisier than I like but very nice. The noise isn't an issue really in my system with my speakers but would be using other speakers of higher efficiency. I'm happy enough to just stay with what I have.
The Scots can go ahead and try me for Heresey. LOL. I suppose they wouldn't approve of my cabling either but the cables and preamp make this modest system compete with high dollar systems. It really is like the amps and speakers have been set free. Their loss if they are too stubborn to give it a try.
I'm very happy with the LP 12 having owned this one since 1984. It's a solid performer IMO. If I were to upgrade it would likely be a Teres. For what I'd get out of my table and pay for a new Teres whatever improvements I'd get just aren't worth it at this time. The differences are very minor. I've had a 265 in my system and compared the two. I love the simplicity of the Teres and having a concrete floor in my music room, either work very well in my environment. Linn has been very good about parts availability and an upgrade path which I've taken advantage of. Still, doing business here with most Linn retailers is not enjoyable. Linn USA sucks. The last two sentences are the reason I'd replace my gear with something else. Not because of performance. Is it the same in the UK?