Far be it from me to knock the Herron phono stage. My earlier remarks ca 2019 were made in jest at the outset of this longlived thread. I am sure the Herron is superb. But two guys who own the Herron and also own or have owned two other very fine phono stages that cost a great deal more than the Herron, the VAC Renaissance SE and a special edition of the CAT SL1, have remarked that they at least slightly prefer the higher cost models to the Herron. This is no black mark on the Herron, because those two phono stages are likely to be very exceptional. But that testimony gives me some idea how to think about the Herron, without having ever owned one.
I would not dismiss Yamaha electronics out of hand. There was a time when they marketed very advanced solid state gear using a novel transistor, the name of which escapes me right now. I think that was the Yamaha B1 and B2, for the amp and preamp, respectively. Also Yamaha produced the GT2000 turntable along with the L and X versions of same. Like the company that makes Technics products, Yamaha is an industrial giant capable of doing whatever they want. That said, I would like to know more about the A-S3000 integrated. Is it a current product or vintage, for one thing? On the face of it, or until I know more about the A-S3000, that would seem to be the weak link in the OP's system, since the other components are high quality.
