Very nice - impressive gear, far better than mine. Especially the Grado - mine is entry level decent stuff, flexible with EQ etc, and where the real flexibility comes in is with the two turntables and multiple cartridges etc... the good thing about my system is as a record producer, after dealing with and listening to super high-def sound with $25,000 speakers and amps in near silent acoustically tuned rooms, the entry level system really can help you recognize fundamental flaws in your recording. If it sounds great on an entry level system, chances are the mix will stand up anywhere.
I have a collection of about 10,000 records, mostly 78s of various descriptions, 16" transcription discs, Edison and Pathe discs. All playable with either my Garrard or Dual turntables - with the Garrard I just switch out the headshell with either the GE VRII, or a couple of Stantons with switchable stylii. Edison and Pathe require reverse wiring because they're vertical cut records instead of lateral. It's remarkable how much difference there is when playing a vintage disc with the CORRECT equipment it was designed to be played on. I can play you an early 50s Ella Fitzgerald record on my Dual with the Ortophon, and it will sound really good, but then I play it on the Garrard with the 1952 GE VRII coarse groove stylus, and it literally JUMPS out of the system with all the life and punch one would expect from some sort of high end dynamic range expander.
The Brunswick Gramaphone plays all 3 types (Lateral, Edison or Pathe) with a rotating reproducer/stylus assembly that's really cool.
Yes, if your Wharfdales are rated at 150 watts RMS, then you really need 1,000 to 1,500 watts to do them justice - not to have volume, but dynamic range headroom. Have you had to replace the butyl rubber support rings on the edges of your speakers yet? Mine disintegrated about 10 years ago, and I had to get new ones.
I have an ace in the hole tucked away awaiting refurb - a 1959 Fischer 800-C receiver - top of the line for the day, and cost nearly as much as an entry level new car back then (interestingly, so did the Brunswick Ultona Gramaphone). The Fisher 800-C was one of the best they ever made, still covetted to this day by audiophiles, and known collectively as "The Fisher". RIAA curve switches, Frequency contouring for tuning to your listening room/speakers, polarity reverse switches, phono input impedance switches, radio frequency fine tuning rejection switches etc. Lots of flexibility, and a true honest high power rating (compared to today's out and out RMS power fibs from specs today), all done with gorgeous warm tube technology. It will be my mid level listening system once I get it going.
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