I have been listening to records for 40 years and have had several turntables and a good list of other gear. I, too, am now using the MMF-7. I chose it because it does have a very flowing, balanced sound and a dark background. I auditioned several turntables before buying and found the the MMF-7 and MMF-9 and the Rega P25 and the P9 were the only ones under $3000.00 total cost that could produce this sound. The mids with these turntables proved to be full and there was remarkable bass extension for vinyl playback. There are a few other considerations, however. Strip out the ground wire from the interconnect provided and use it and throw the rest away. In fact, I considered sending it back to Roy Hall. I am currently using a Transparent Ultra phono cable with very satisfactory results. I have also used a pair of Chord Anthem interconnects with good results. I have experimented with some other cables, and this turntable seems to be very sensitive to the changes in sound that you can make with different cables. Please note that I do not run out and buy new cables all the time. In fact the only ones that I have bought new are a couple of Kimber digital coax cables. AudiogoN is a good source to use in trying different cables by buying them cheap on the used market. Over a period of time I have acquired a number of different ones that I experiment with. Phono stages are also an area to consider. I auditioned, in home, several in the $1200 and under range when I bought the new turntable. I didn't like any of them. With the exception of the Coph Nia, I thought that they all sounded thin. I am using an old Marantz PH-22, which has been with me for a while and that I bought used, also. It has an almost tube-like warmth. I have also found than some addition isolation under the footers on the MMF-7 also helps darken the background. I used some Sorbothane pucks that I bought from Vera Starr, who is a AudiogoN vendor. To keep them from squishing, I cut some disc from the back of a pad of paper, put them on top of the pucks, and put the footers and cups on the paperboard. It made a serious difference. I hope that this is helpful. As you know, we don't hear things exactly the same way, so I have to stress the idea of experimenting. You have a good turntable. I think that with a little experimenting and listening you'll have it working to your satisfaction.
