System edited: I have been simplifying the system: down to the Technics and MacMini as sources. I am also on a speaker quest. I'm really liking the Quads (the most affordable speaker I have had in my system in quite some time).
System edited: Finished room renovation a few months ago. Getting things resettled. Got rid of the old, thick carpet and replaced with hardwood floors. Tore out the built-in shelves and have some modular shelving that is more varied. That also gave me another foot or so of width at the speakers. Added treatment. Ran a dedicated circuit (ceiling lights are on a separate circuit) and put in good duplexes/outlets.
Stearnsn: I think that I was looking for a turntable set up that had more detail and depth in the midrange; and, for whatever reason, I did not want to walk down the path of the KAB tonearm damper. I was also just a little bored with the 1200. My turntable hunt turned up a few candidates (VPI Classic, ClearAudio Emotion, Mitchell Technodeck, Rega P5) but none seemed inspiring. I read the Tone Audio review of the SoundHiFi mods and decided to take a leap.
Setting up the SME and the outboard PSU was as easy as I could imagine (even though I did have one hiccup along the way). The sound is stunning. I got all of the midrange improvements I was looking for and quieter background to boot. The base seems to have more heft--although I can't say that it was ever lacking. With the SME I seem to get both the finesse and the slam that I like.
The 1200 with the SME is unreal. I went on a 6 month journey and gave my self a decent budget ($4000 or so) to find a new turntable. A few on here encouraged me to push the limits of the 1200. I got the SME, the external PSU, and the mounting kit for less that $1400, spent a few hundred on records, and picked up a Blackbird (that I still need to install). I'm pretty friggin happy!
