Cartridge or Pre Amp

Not sure what you mean by "front stage darkness". 

"Tube rolling" is a slang that means trying different tubes. 

And, you have to roll tubes. It's like a rule. It's the law, if you want to be a true "audiophile". We do have a code of ethics, you know. 

Which ones? ALL of them-any you can get your hands on. It's just experimenting, right? Anything cheap, even used, you should try. Then, if and when you want to spend real money on tubes, you might have an idea what to get. 

The more better the system gets, the more records will sound different to each other. That's the result of higher resolution. In fact, you should embrace it: that's one of the ways to tell if your system is actually getting better or just changing colorations/presentation. 


Surprised at some that are saying "get a better phono stage". Can easily say that about any other piece, or "upgrade everything". I personally think as you describe your system, it is very well balanced. 


Before upgrades, I think it's better to make what you have sounds it's best. What fun is it to just swap components without getting to play with them and get to know them? 

Just a though...perhaps a bit off topic, cause I don't know if I would suggest a different cart, at least maybe not yet.

But what about high output MC? 

MC carts take capacitance out of the picture, which means more cable options. 

Generally speaking, where low output MC's put more demands on phono stages that MM's, high output MC's put less demands than both. 

Just, you know, something to consider.