I'm falling in love with this thing, though I'm not certain what's going on. I just made an armboard for my Ariston RD80 (Linn LP12-like) out of Purpleheart, an exotic purple hardwood. I put the Black Widow tonearm on it, and mounted the Grado Platinum on that. Plugged into my ASL Mini Phono, there is a beautiful resonant quality to the music, like a fine cello, or other lacquered woody instrument. It's beautiful. ASL Mini Phono or Purpleheart armboard? More listening required. The bass has made an appearance, it's still burning in. For this type of resonant magic, a tubed component is definitely necessary: so if that's the type of magic you want and this is your budget, this is it. Great clarity and detail too. Be aware I had NOS Philips tubes matched, measured, fitted when I bought it.