Where to go next with the turntable

@traudio , 

You are entirely correct about the LP 12 being a PITA. The suspension is a terrible design. Please do not let that sour you on suspended turntables. They will have superior bass due to the absence of environmental rumble. Your subs will like it also. A system Like yours deserves at least a Sota Sapphire. You can set a bomb off in front of a Sapphire and nothing will happen, even if it is sitting on a folding table! David Fletcher pioneered the design now used by Basis, SME and Avid. The chassis is hanging from the springs instead of sitting on them, a much more stable approach. I am extremely familiar with 3.7s. I have set up a bunch of them. Good for you using subwoofers. If you are looking for more punch and more forward bass. The Clearaudio Charisma will do it. You can also work with your subwoofers. Chances are you are using the low pass filters in the subs?? If so that is an AWFUL thing to do, much worse than not cleaning your records. The 3.7s benefit from removing at least 80 Hz and under from them. The problem of matching subwoofer is impossible to do well by analog means. It is impossible to get the timing and phase perfect by ear. I should know. I tried doing that for 15 years starting in 1979. You need digital bass management. With it you can make your bass sound however YOU want. The best way to do it is with a digital preamp like the MiniDSP SHD or Studio with outboard DACs (Benchmark uses that approach), The Anthem STR, the Trinnov Amethyst and my favorite the DEQX Pre 4. The Pre 4 will not be available for about 6 months. It's big brother the Pre 8 is being released just now. The only difference is the Pre 8 has a full 4 way crossover in it. You could tri amp the 3.7s and run your subs. It is about 3 K more dear. You subs you would cross at 80 hz 8th order (48dB/oct). You could actually push it to 100 Hz without getting the subs into the midrange. You will get another 6 dB of headroom, a cleaner midrange and the improvement in bass WILL blow your mind.

Having said all this, you will still benefit from an improved record playing device. If it were me with your system I would get a Sota Sapphire and put a Kuzma 4 Point 9 on it. I would use the Clearaudio Charisma or if you should go the route of the digital preamp the Soundsmith Voice. 

mijostyn
The SME looks interesting. Honestly that is a brand I'd forgotten about. 

As for the speaker set up: I'm sticking with my integrated Hegel H390 so doing all this crossovers, digital preamp and tri-amping is not going to happen. It's too much gear, and I'm retired now with a limited budget. 

I have the MiniDSP UMIK-1 and a couple different apps on my iPad to assist me on the sub set up. The maggies are running full range and start to drop off at 35hz in my room and the subs are crossed over around there (I don't remember the number without looking at the app) with a 24db slope. I used the measurement tools to get the sub phase to blend with the speakers so I have a nice flat response.

The subs are doing very little apart from picking up where the Maggies leave off. 

I’ve seen the MoFi tables and love the way some of them look. Haven’t seen many reviews of them

Both the MoFi Studiodeck and Ultradeck were designed by Allen Perkins of Spiral Groove turntables fame. Reviews for the Ultradeck here, here , and here. The MoFi Masterdeck is new so reviews are scarce, but building upon the success of the Ultradeck I’d expect quality performance.

VPI - I too am not a fan of unipivots. I purchased a used VPI Avenger rim drive that came with 2 VPI unipivots arms (which I’ll get around selling), then subsequently purchased a 4point, s Schroeder CB-L, and a Schick tonearm.

The Ultradeck is ~3k, the Masterdeck is 6k. SME starts at 10k. What’s your budget?

As a general rule, high mass platters are known for having good bass. 

kennyc, 

Thanks. 
Unfortunately I read some owner's reviews also and there seems to be some QC problems with these tables. Most common complaint I saw was with the queuing lever, not letting the arm come down.  

@traudio ,

Which is not a whole lot. The lowest note on a 4 string bass guitar is 40 Hz. 

Play a 20 or 30 Hz test tone, turn the volume up and put your hand on the panel. You will feel it vibrating. That vibrating distorts everything else. If you only listen to string quartets at low volumes it does not matter. If you use a turntable even just the records themselves generate rumble exacerbating the problem. A flat response does not necessarily mean a detailed performance. A system can do a short sine sweep beautifully and sound terrible. You are familiar with MiniDSP. The SHD is $1500 with the UMIK 2 and it will do everything you need including a digital two way subwoofer crossover which will allow you to take the crossover point up, cleaning up the Maggies. MiniDSP also makes a stand along crossover.

If the Sota Sapphire is too big a bite I encourage you to look at the Thorens TD 1600.