I think I'm going Mad! (turntables and cartridges) *

I'll skip the obvious "what I got" rec. and just state that I don't have enough exposure to different models to answer.

 

Sorry, missed this one....got distracted. All the mods you mention are worthwhile. On the preamp side, is the Puffin you have the DSP? By the description, it should have quite a range of tunability. Have you tried the different settings to see what options are available?

 

Yes, I played with it quite a bit; It's extremely versatile. Honestly, I've been liking the Denon lately with the Puffin; I think I have it dialed in pretty well. It's just, before I blow everything up and take a bath selling the E.A.T and the Soundsmith; I want to make sure I'm doing the right thing. That's why I've been asking about Phono Stages. For as much as I paid for the Zephyr, I hate to sell it, if there's a Phono stage that will bring it to life?? I really like the Denon's punch but if there's another cart with the same type of punch but a little more detail; I'm open to that to. I have a broken Denon dl 304. I'm thinking of having Andy Kim work it over for me. It's 400.00 for the micro ridge nude diamond option. I've been thinking of doing that and sending one of my Technics 1200's for the Kab work over and then selling everything else.

 

Besides just being obsessed with making my records sound as good as possible; I have another motive. I have a music blog called shotgun solution. I've been running it for quite some time. Most of my recordings have left me unhappy over the years. I really want to do the records and the bands justice! The last record I just posted, is with the Denon/Puffin combo. Others before it are with the E.A.T/Soundsmith combo. Most of them are to thin and airy for me.

 

Seems like the best Idea to me. If youve spent this kind of money already are you really sure about putting out even more to maybe liven up the Zephyre? Especially when you have something you like.
I say do the Micro Ridge and KAB modding.

 

In my opinion, actually, the AT OC9XML and the Hana SL (or ML) can be the bargains.

 

OP, like me, you sound like you're chiefly music first over gear. Nothing wrong with either side of the fence, but I personally find gear preoccupation ultimately frustrating, and it eats into what I'm really about. It can be a nice distraction to tinker, but it's just that for me.

The Denon, Technics, and Puffin are more than good enough. Yes, given time, effort, and expenditure, you could probably squeeze a few extra percent here or there. Certainly, you could make things worse - people rarely like to mention that - and you avowedly already enjoy that set up. Definitely you could get some different presentations, if not exactly improvements by orders of magnitude. Nothing will be three times as good as your combo, but as you already know, it may cost as much.

Enjoy your set-up. Buy more records and write about them. Optimise your speakers/ listening space - this is where the rubber truly meets the road.

 

And regarding the test, as expected the cart is very much at play when it comes to preferences here and a 10 or 9 shows a statistical demonstration of it.
This also shows why the first test can not tell us anything about the tables.