May I chip in please?
First off, I have a freelance association with the smaller NVA gear and phono stages, but I'll try to be as unbiased as I can.
Passive preamps work well with some amps, but if the amps are to be used close to the speakers, a good active model may well have advantages... My evidence is that I played a line level source straight into a power amp, then slipped an active preamp in and listened again with levels matched as closely as possible. if the active preamp changed the sound it was rejected - and so many I tried did change the sound passing through them, but I digress....
Back to the original question. I use an NVA Phono 2 here with turntable setups you lot would laugh at. My personal take is that the whole reason for the LP12's existence in the early years - the ability to get 'musical' info off a flawed vinyl medium - is continued in the NVA amps I bought and with the turntables I play with most often, the MUSICAL message comes through really well, without taking the sonics apart. I reckon other more 'HiFi' based phono stages would take the sound of my lash-ups apart in an unacceptable way. I was always more of a 'tune/melody/atmosphere' person than a 'rhythm king' so please bear this in mind. The NVA Phono 1's I've tested do the same in a slightly less expansive way.
So, a well fettled LP12 will of course be just fine into any amp out there I think, as long as the sub-chassis isn't being wobbled about by foot-falls and if the cartridge is well matched to the tonearm fitted thereby minimising very low frequency instability and resulting excessive speaker cone wobbles.
As for a 42/140, I sold this effin' stuff for years and never liked the baby pre and powers this manufacturer made, the larger models as well as the early Naits always sounding more 'musical' and less 'mechanical' to me when new - remember, I'm not a rhythm king and nowadays, my old abused ears cannot stand harshness in any shape or form (apparently a natural ageing thing I'm told) and for me, current smaller Naims still get nasty when pushed too hard. Knowing what I know now, I'd say that Exposure from this era would have been rather better, the power amps especially...
I'm told by a dealer pal that current Linn amps are good in a dry, lean kind of way. The less said about their current speakers the better, he tells me..