Now you can forget going to sleep early and start the analog adventure. Hope everything goes well but if you start hearing some hum, don't worry. It's like a rite of passage for LOMC. You will work it out. But then Zesto has all that tweaks with grounds and stuff to "eliminate" hums.
Enjoy the sound and the process! Phono cable makes more difference than IC with digital. I prefer using balanced input into phonostage (like you have on Zesto) but I don't know if you can do that with the Classic.
I liked Zesto. If I didn't already have a tube phono stage I really like and wasn't picking up a Soundsmith Strainguage at the show, I would have been far more into it. I promised to go back and chat with George but couldn't make it.
You say you are set with cart but that will change in time.
If you want to try a Koetsu, give me a holler. I have a couple of spare Rosewoods lying around. It could be a good match for the Zesto. Koetsu and its bloom is an addictive sound if you are one of those who hear the "magic."
