Very useful things to know, thanks!
However I've already decided to take convinience over quality (albeit saying I would never do so when it came to audio equipment), and get another Stanton turntable. They have built-in pre-amps and switchable phono/line-in outputs. Truly a dream for archiving vinyl to computer, plug it in to the back of the soundcard and you are ready to rip!
I'll keep your suggestions in mind though as it's ineveitable that I will be purchasing a higher end TT and proper pre-amp soon enough.