What AU919? Andrew says he's currently using a (modded) £60 Cambridge A1. See here (post #27):
http://theartofsound.net/forum/showt...110#post912110
The bottom line is, he's got a £6.5k LP12 (and soon also a £2.5k Technics) going into a £60 amp... Therefore at the moment, his system is simply too 'front-end heavy', and really needs balancing out better in the middle, and realistically also at the end, although his speakers are probably still good enough to show the differences upstream.
If I was building a system, fronted by a £6.5k turntable, then in order to hear what it'd be capable of, I'd be looking to (wisely) spend around £2-3k on a phono stage, at least the same on an amp, and at least the same on speakers, to create a balanced system. Let's not forget that different rules apply, with the 'source first' principle, with turntables, compared with digital front-ends. And in that respect, 'reverse mullets' don't work.
As good as Andrew's little Cambridge is for the money, there's simply no way it's good enough to show his LP12 in its best light, and that'll also apply to the new Technics he's bought, which is why I said for him to save some money for a better amp. Quite simply, before he spends another penny elsewhere on his system, that's where his focus should be:
finding an amp that he likes, which befits the rest of his system!
Because, being brutally frank and honest (for Andrew's sake and long-term benefit), with no offence intended, his concentration at the moment seems to be on spending lots of money on stuff he likes the looks of, and on turntables or CD players, thinking that's what matters most, and that 'any half-decent amp' will do, when the reality is rather different...!
Anyway Andrew, I hope you don't take umbrage at this post. I'm just simply being constructive and trying to help
Marco.