Help.... I'm scared to 'upgrade'!

Good points to consider, all...

@mingles, I have indeed ordered an upgraded power supply, as well as a 4.4mm Pentaconn to XLR adapter so as to take advantage of its balanced output. It will be interesting to try to discern any changes with one, then both of those.

@chetatkins Curious, why might it be better to bypass the Bryston Isolation Transformer (BIT15) that the rest of my system is on?

@fuzztone I’m going to keep that nifty Puffin unit in mind should I ever want a digital archive of my library. Plus the azimuth readout is very cool. It’s an example of just how rich the analog world is right now.

@boothroyd A Sutherland transimpedance stage is on my short list. And @mijostyn I’ll take another look at the Channel D Lino C. I remember being impressed by a write up some time ago, maybe from Fremer’s site.

@lewm Yes, which is why the Accuphase C-47 is my aspirational piece. I haven’t found out its US list yet, I think it’s around $13,000. To get there will require some saving and selling but at the very least that little Zen Phono makes waiting fun, eh?

well, this little tiny corner of the internet is a place for discussing high end gear, right? 

Some good points, for sure. I certainly didn't intend to bash the Parasound JC3+. In his August 2014 review of the Parasound, Neil Gader states, "Backgrounds are still eerily quiet" when comparing it to the original JC3. I guess I interpreted that to mean actually very, even eerily, quiet. That simply wasn't the case. It really sounded fantastic but compared to the self generated noise (or the absence of) of my DAC, it was much more pronounced. I'm sure I was naive, it was my first (relatively, of course) expensive phono preamp and I didn't realize that "black backround", "eerily quiet", "silent", etc. implies that those mean ....for a phonostage. An issue for me might be the fact that at times I just can't resist listening to music loudly through my very enthusiastic ATC's which would bring that noise well into audibility. I have a ton of experience listening to noise of all sorts through my sensitive amateur radio gear and the causes and remedies of all sorts of RFI, tube rush, ground loops, etc., was part of the knowledge base required in testing for my Extra Class ticket. So I'm fairly certain that the hiss present in my system was in fact generated by the JC3+. No, it wasn't terrible. I bought it smartly used and resold it to one who reported no issues at all. I always offer to buy back anything I sell for any reason within a period of time. The Rega Aria, on the other hand, was much worse. I bought it from a local dealer, from an actual shop. The dealer  concurred that it wasn't exactly possessing inky black backrounds. 

    More generally, I have no apologies for allocating whatever funds I want in pursuit of great sound. And I really like the gear, that's why I love radio too. And that's why occasionally post here on Audiogon. This is a community for all types of music lovers and stereo lovers. @sgreg1 So please don't be too concerned with my financial priorities. 

@aberyclark I'm wondering if I give too much subjective weight to that single variable which is a component's S/N ratio. I sat down to listen to a few LP's while writing here and am still astounded at just how squeaky clean the little Zen Phono is. The Umami Red is new to my system (I lucked out on a used one which still looked new under a microscope), and if I had a JC3+ here on hand to compare my opinion could change, for sure. 

Many good suggestions and it’s why I enjoy this community. Luckily I really get great enjoyment out of my stereo as is, so it’s fun just to bide my time and check often as gear comes up for sale. My wife and I will be attending AXPONA this year and I’m really looking forward to listening to some great equipment.

@tweak1 I've got most of my system plugged into a Bryston BIT 15, which is essentially a large Piltron isolation transformer with surge protection and some additional RFI filtering. It has seemed to have helped; my home's AC does have issues. 

A little update is that I've added a cable to take advantage of the Zen Phono's balanced out, and that in conjunction with an upgraded power supply really confirms that, at least in terms of noise, that little unit can really hold it's own against preamps in much more rarefied levels.

@jim5559 The Bryston BIT 15 is the only Bryston component I have experience with; but I don't usually consider a "quiet" component "dead". I have heard that they can be analytic. 

@lewm The balanced output is through a 4.4 mm Pentaconn connector which indeed does have four contacts. I always assume that those connections to be somewhat fragile so I definitely will NOT be unplugging and plugging it back in often. Yes, It would be difficult to know how much less distortion or noise there is but theoretically there is less and for the modest price of the cable (and the fact that my Accuphase E-470 has true balanced inputs) it was a no brainer.

@mulveling With such a small amount of real-estate on the back of this diminutive unit, traditional XLR connectors would be a bit large. Why is the 4.4 mm Pentaconn connector a misapplication? 

@djspinner I just spent some time at the website of Darlington Labs and am really impressed by what I've read. That one can choose NOT to get a unit without a blindingly bright blue LED would be much appreciated by me, for sure.

@ghdprentice Yes, for sure. I had a nice conversation with George Counnas at an audio show once and am an admirer of the brand. I always "click" on ads for anything Zesto. One of these days, maybe..... Same for Audio Research.