OK, I said it...


Just got the new turntable running this morning. Installed the Kontrapunkt B on the Rega P9; a most nerve wracking job. Well I can't find a crow and I am not yet ready to eat some, but here are my very preliminary findings based on listening to one side of two albums (one brand new, Art Blakey's "Indestructible"), one that's been on hand for a while, (Dire Straits "Communiqué"):

my greatest peeve, surface noise: way less, but still a bother on softer cuts or portions of pieces where the volume is low;
soundstage: quite incredible;
layering of instruments: quite incredible;
natural tone of the instruments: stunning;
treble: well the cymbals are back the way I like them; sharp attack and decay when hit near the centre, sharp attack and shimmering decay when hit nearer the edge;
bass: not the subwoofer-type of bass, but the overtones are more present, that is an acoustic bass has that plummy quality.

Well I am not a "convert", in the sense at looking at the experience as crossing a threshold from where you never go back. I still think that digital is better at doing silence, which is so necessary in music, and, in letting the sound of soft music come out without the anxiety of tick and pops.

So far, I have not listened to enough music to have a real hard opinion about the merits of better analog equipment. Suffice it to say that in answer to the post wondering if any progress has been made in the last twenty years, I would have to say quite a lot. This is based on a very quick, very subjective appreciation at the moment. What is the table's, what is the arm's, what is the cartridge's contribution in all this: very hard to say, and will never be known since I have no intention of playing mix and match.

Am still using the Sumiko Phono Box for the time being. The next move is a new phono section. Is there another level yet to be achieved with that upgrade? I while back I would have been extremely sceptical, now I hope there is. What bugs me, is to have to make another leap of faith.

Well, I will keep you posted. Good day.
pbb
I think Pbb has very acute hearing and is probably noticing stylus drag/speed changes produced at the warp. You seem to me like a modded 1200 candidate, where the analog sound will approach closer that of CD, but w/out artifacts.
My speakers are indeed vented and I experimented by putting my hand over the vent and, lo and behold, the woofers mostly stop their pumping. What I hear appears to be the sound made when the very compliant woofers extend in and out to about their maximum. It is quite audible on soft passages and very annoying. Why did this not happen with my former tt (AR ETL/RB 300/Shure V15Vmr? Is it the lack of suspension in the Rega? Are there speakers or speaker types to be avoided with analogue or at least with Regas? Any thoughts would be appreciated. BTW I have some old Nak in- line filters that I could put between the phono section and line stage that would maybe cure or alleviate the problem, but would there be a downside. Thanks..
Try the filters as they will probably work fine. As far as the tables with suspension go, that is what I have and it's mostly immune to those problems. Alas, suspension tables have their issues too which is mostly periodic tweaking and severe sensitivity to footfalls on wooden floors. Ultimately you need a massive (heavy) dedicated stand and proper points or such to transfer energy to earth. You can probably relocate your table and make things much better. For sure, the table needs to be away from the corners. Between and behind the speakers would be a good place to start with a suspension table. Maybe yours would like to be more inline with the speakers but still between them. Minimize the woofer excursion by table placement first, and then insert the filters. Your getting there.
Post removed 
I have put in the Nak SF-10 filters and the woofers are, indeed, better behaved. I think the problem existed with the Sumiko Phono Box also, although I didn't, at the time, realise it was the vented speakers' wild woofer excursion that I was hearing. There was a used Target tt wall shelf available a few weeks ago at a local used equipment dealer, do these shelves do anything insofar as aiding is reducing feedback (assuming that is the culprit, I have not done the suggested test yet) is concerned? In closing: why do they build a turntable at that price level without adjustable feet to level the turntable? I believed I had the stand on which the tt rests nice and level, but upon checking by putting the level on the platter itself it turns out the table was not exactly level. I have now corrected this with shims under the feet, but why oh why simply not have adjustable feet?