I've heard this integrated sound absolutely excellent with Magico S1. What about the MM stage didn't feel right to you? I thought its phono stage sounded superb (as typical for a VAC built-in phono), and you can add an outboard K&K Lundahl LL1931 (plus a 0.5m interconnect) for top-quality MC support. The Herron gets rave reviews, though, so you could forgo the phono option if you're keeping that.
More recently I've heard current line Focal speakers pairing beautifully with VAC gear (higher price ranges, though), so look at Focal's options too.
More recently I've heard current line Focal speakers pairing beautifully with VAC gear (higher price ranges, though), so look at Focal's options too.