Rec's for a dull sounding analog system

I assume your Monolithic Sounds refers to a PS2 phono stage? Without which you would lose the RIAA equalization that a phono stage performs and make your system sound dull, flat and compressed.

Pawlowski6132 - Monolithic is the PS2 version.

Tobias - Sorry, the Monothic is the phono pre, I just did not note it as such. Yeah, I was thinking lingo/cirkus, but had reservations about upgrading a 70's lp12. Some folks talk about latter models being braced better and whatnot. I don't know how much of a difference that even makes.

Holmejr, thanks for the clarification. (I could have Googled it myself instead of asking a silly question.)

Yes, the corner bracing on the plinth of the later LP12s is better, but that doesn't mean you should not get a Cirkus and a Lingo for your present table IMHO. The contribution of the plinth changes to the sound of the TT is minimal as long as you have your LP12 on a decent support. And hey, I'm a fixer-upper.

If your sound is dull now, you might check your VTA if you haven't done that recently. "Dull" could mean it's too low.

Can you be more specific about "dull"? Is the stylus on the Benz possibly worn out? does the Monolithic provide sufficient gain and appropriate loading for your low-output moving coil cartridge?