It has been about 8 months listening to the Torii MK3 married to ZU Omen Defs and they just sound great!  Originally I had reservations but after several phone calls and listening to my music collection, I soon realized that not all recordings are created equal.  Peter Gabriel So sounds great and Us just sounds FLAT.  Oh well.

I was able to inherit my dad's 150+ Jazz LP's that are approximately 30+ years.  Practically all are in very good condition.  He told me they are the true Jazz artists; Don Ellis, Marion Brown, Miles Davis, Gary Bartz, Stan Getz, Buddy Rich, Weather Report and many more. I also received his Technics SL-DD22 turntable and I feel it does a good job, though I need a new P-mount cartridge.  Thinking of getting the Grado Black.  I am currently using my Onkyo AVR as the phono preamp, but hopefully one day I will upgrade to a phono amp.  

I also upgraded my speaker cables to a slightly better pair and they actually proved better.  I always thought it was snake oil but it improved the sound a bit.  My next tweak will probably be tube rolling.  

RJR,  I have been recently buying Hi Fi equipment rapidly over the past few months...Taboo MK III, Audeze Headphones, CSP 3 ordered, Zu Audio Souls ordered, Jolida CD player to arrive Wednesday, two sets of DSR interconnects, Zu power cord and interconnects. I was using my old Adcom 500 Mk II as a phono pre and just didn't like it for some reason.  I didn't want to spring for a "good" phono stage just yet....I've got my eye on that Torii MK IV.  I have a 35 year old pioneer quartz drive turntable and have no intention of upgrading.  I decided to try a cheapo ART DJ phono stage for $50 and it arrived a few days ago.  I was pleasantly surprised....it sounds very good...when the recording is good, of course. I'm sure it has something do  with the Decware interconnects that cost 4 times what the Phono stage did and the Taboo magic. I bought mine from Sweetwater in Ft. Wayne, Indiana...They are also an ebay seller...2 year warranty and tech assistance...Free shipping.  Google it and read reviews like I did , then give it a shot. My guess is it will be better than your Onkyo....if not send it back.  Then you can save your pennies to eventually upgrade to Steve's Phono Stage...hehe