You might be right Richard, I have played with some exceptional wires in my system. It is quite possible that they have enabled me to part with the linestage. The Audioquest WAL that Rinpoche has purchased is completely unlike any ICs I have ever used... Silver solid cores, that I believe are buried inside air dyelectrics. Will WAL induce Rinpoche to try out a line stage sooner than later, or will it have the opposite effect... Impossible to predict.
As for me trying the linestage route once again... Never say never again *Grins!*