Turntable suggestion -- budget.. or not?

Not another budget turntable thread, you might sigh... Heh. Well, I promise to make it interesting. A bit about myself first before I get into the main reason for the thread:

I am a musician and fully embrace tube technology and the general 'tone quest' that goes along with (in particular) guitar playing. I've built most of my amp gear -- circuit copies from the late 50s/early 60s. Some of the same characteristics that I seek in guitar tone, i'd like to also have in my listening setup -- warmth. I'm already familiar with the adjectives that get thrown around when describing tone. So, no need to hold back.

So, I'd like see what all the fuss is about... Vinyl appeals to me purely from the sound quality aspect. I have an extensive cd stash, and very little vinyl (this will change if the 'proof' is there).

I'm currently demoing a Pro-Ject 1.3 TT at home right now with a Cambridge 651p into a solid state power amp and out to speakers. The later two pieces gear likely won't change. However, going forward (and if the quality is there) I will build gear to surround my TT setup.

The 1.3 is nice, but the motor on the side is a bit gimmicky IMO. I can hear the hum from the motor (and I *do* have it on a good base). It definitely looks the best! The 651p sounds a bit bright to my ears too. Despite this, I'm quite impressed with what I hear from vinyl. I've been playing alot of recordings I know very well (Miles "kind of blue", and some wes montgomery) and in general things sound not only different but *better*!

Now to the questions. I'm leaning on sending both the 1.3 and 651p back for the reasons I mentioned above. I've had about 6-8 hours of continuous playback and I realize the break-in period is still happening, but I'm not hearing the warmth that I'm looking for. Sure, it will get better with more break-in, but I want something to knock my socks off right out of the gate.

Thoughts? Where should I go from here?