Interesting and thank you for your post. You’re the first owner I have heard from who has experience with both the Standard MAX and the Reference. With the difference in price the Reference should be better on sound quality..! On the other hand I have hear dealers mention, that they are very, very hard pressed to hear the difference between the two.I used to own this very same version of the standard max and absolutely loved it. The looks are just great - better than the Reference that I ended up purchasing. Save for a great deal on a reference, I would still own this one (although the Reference did lift the SQ quite noticeably - you could tell they were from the same family, but the Reference wins to my ear in the SQ category).
For me the Reference is out of my budget, actually even the Standard MAX was out of my budget, so it’s a non issue for me, if the Reference is better. I hope it is I’m just very pleased with my Standard MAX, especially since it’s the version with the alu-brass base and motor pod’s no longer made.
I installed a The Wand - 12” Master Series tonearm recently and I’m quite impressed with that on the Sikora.