Where to go next with the turntable

I've had a couple Linn LP12 tables prior to this and they sounded good, but I really got tired of the fiddly nature, and paying the guy at the Linn dealer that was 2 hrs away to do an occasional tune up. 

I also owned VPI Scout and Scoutmaster. Absolutely HATED that arm! Hard to set up & adjust. Unipivot always seemed to always be wiggling along with the grooves. Never settled after dropping the needle on the record. It looks like they are better now, but I don't know if I'm willing to give them another shot. 
 

pindac I checked with Soundsmith about capacitance setting since the web page merely says N/A, They told me it does not matter where the phono pre-amp is set as capacitance does not affect the cartridge. 

vinylshadow

"Removeable headshells add resonance and are a weak link in a tonearm. Convenient but lower performance."

It's a weak theory that limits optional use of cartridges for so many. Limitations of features of tonearms on sooo many TTs today is one of my pet peeves. 

Why then did the SME 3009 and 3012 reach such prominent success and they continue to maintain desirability?

All the Technics highly regarded 1200's have removable headshells.

Ease of precise height adjustment ought to be a main concern when choosing a tonearm. Rotation of arm/headshell is another consideration regarding ease of azimuth adjustment.

Micro-Seiki 505s were/are wonderful arms. The fitting on the end of the arm that fastens the cartridge can be adjusted for azimuth, a terrific feature.

Or a headshell with built in azimuth adjustment feature:

pricey

bargain

Pre-mounting a cartridge on a loose headshell is far easier than mounting to a fixed arm.

Continue to play MONO lps with stereo cartridges due to limitation of fixed arm? Avoid terrific MONO LP's from the era when so many greats made their reputations? 

Stick with a single cartridge choice, that's a damn shame.

I could go on, I've used fixed or removable on and off since 1966, removable/arm features is the way to go!

Other than that, I have no opinion on the matter.

I would get a tube phono stage. 

@traudio 

"More bass warmth" is a speaker/room/amplitude issue. All the best cartridges are very close in amplitude response striving for a flat curve from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. They are all within a dB of each other. 

As far as turntables go the real issues are less noise, both internal and environmental, better interface with the record and accurate speed control. The Thorens 1600 is the next step up from Rega. It is a fabulous turntable for the money adding a good suspension for environmental isolation. Form there you are getting into the Sota Sapphire with a Schroder CB or Kuzma 4 point 9. This adds a magnetic thrust bearing for less rumble and much longer bearing life. Adding Vacuum clamping and Sota's excellent mat gives you the best record interface. Moving up to the Sota line to the Cosmos gives you incredible speed accuracy, a 1" thick aluminum chassis, a constrained layer tonearm board, and vacuum clamping. Then you are off to megabuck tables like the Dohmann Helix, Basis Inspiration, Avid Acutus and SME 30/2 and 12.   

I don’t know turntables at all anymore, but it’s true that adding mid-hi frequency absorption and diffusion will help the bass emerge.

Also, a highly resonant room can benefit from bass traps, further improving the bass so that unnatural accents are gone.

You might want to listen to some digital and see if you feel you have the same bass / balance issues.