The 2M Black is a great sounding cartridge, so we'll start there and see how far we get before we handicap it.  Get yourself a ZP3 phono stage, one of our amplifiers, and a suitable pair of speakers for the room.  Some good choices would be Randy's Betsy Open Baffle speakers, or a pair of stand mounted DM945's, or a pair or ERRx radial speakers.  All of these can be driven by our 2 watt amplifiers to room filling volumes in a small space like that.  Also, the amplifier will not have to be turned up loud to sound good, it will be full and rich at low volumes with tons of intoxicating 3-dimensional space.  The drapes are a must.  Get thicker ones and depending on what you hear in the room with the speakers you choose, we can then fine tune the space with some room treatment items placed in the correct locations.

One thing besides not having to turn it up to get it to bloom, is that you can create a near-field apex with the speakers and they will actually sound far away.  This is not the norm with regular hi-fi gear.  This is the norm with Decware gear.  From that point on, we can clean up any weak links since the final fidelity can never rise past the weakest link in the chain.  Then it's time to get in your spaceship and explore music.  Get yourself a USB DAC and stream TIDAL or QOBUZ to your amplifier when your not listening to vinyl.

Hope that helps.

Steve

The way you start is not such a big deal.  If it's going to be a process then approaching it from the weakest link in the chain will bring the most pleasure for the dollar in the shortest amount of time.  The weakest link in the majority of systems is actually the amplifier.  Case in point...  Once I got to listen to a 20,000.00 pair of speakers on a 7500.00 solid state amp.  Both very well respected names.  It got loud, was tight, and clean.  That's about all I could say for it.  Then a week later I was in my own garage, and listening to a 5 inch paper boom box speaker rated at 3 watts that was hot glued into a paint can full of dried up flooring adhesive stuck to the insides.  It was driven by a Zen amp in mono and within minutes the piano piece that I happened to play brought me to tears.  I could have listened to the prior system for the rest of my life and never been moved to tears by it.  The experience showed me that I would rather have a great amplifier with a complete joke for a speaker, then a 100,000.00 dollar speaker with a lesser amp.  It's the amplifier.  So start there.

Steve

Any thoughts on the best amp for my space (12x12 - ceiling does go to about 14ft)?  I don't foresee playing extremely loud in that space.  Why I was leaning towards the se84ufo25.  However, I could see us buying a different house some day and wonder if Torii Mk4 w/25 or ZMA would be better in a large basement where I might play loud occassionaly... or maybe just getting a second se84ufo25 would be the way to go... this is the hardest part of not knowing which way to go with amount of $ being spent.  Don't want to mess it up  lol!

Also, what are the exact options one should select for the 25yr mods?  I see multiple mods, but they don't say 25.  Is it Poly pass or beeswax or copperfoil?  or is there a sheet anywhere that lists what should exactly be selected?   I've seen the price one.

Instinct,
I can only speak to my system which has all the mods on each piece completed and broken in. My room is pretty large as to cubic feet and my Torri Mk IV has no problem whatsoever even when I’m really pushing it. You’ve gotten some great advice from some very knowledgeable people so far, keep at, take in some more of the advice here and when you get closer, give Steve a call, the right answer will come to you eventually. When I got to that point in time I had a great talk with Steve and then put in my order on the spot. Whatever choice you make, it’s DecWare...you’ll be happy!
Best,
Scott

You guys are awesome!  I’ve been on other forums where newbies just get ridiculed for asking questions.  Thanks for the help!  Love reading what everyone else is using.  I know nothing is a bad choice . But, it helps to see the lineups.  

Any clarification on the 25th mods and what is what, would be appreciated.  Or what seems to be the most preferred mods.  I know I read somewhere that highest copper foil caps is not necessary, but I’m unsure if that was true.  Read to many forums at this point and getting things mixed up, lol.

Lon, I’ve read lot of your posts... you’re the one that keeps making me think the ufo25 is the right choice.

My view is that how loud you play has more dependence on speaker efficiency than on amplifier power.
We are told that each doubling of power adds 3 dB of loudness, and 10 dB equals a doubling of apparent loudness.  So if I mathed it rightly, 16 Watts can play a little under twice as loud as 2 Watts.
Not that it is particularly easy for me to say how much loudness increase heard is in fact twice the previous amount. Still, I hope that helps.

instinct2 wrote:  "I’ve been on other forums where newbies just get ridiculed for asking questions."  
I pray for them, and send them light.

Brian