I have a Delta 12 1/2 " benchtop planer. It is OK but I would like to go
up a step or two in performance. Any recomenndations from someone who has
ACTUALLY gone this route.

BTW someone in a previous post about the DW735 mentioned that the
softwoods were not coming out as smooth as hardwoods. The reason for this
is if you dont have a good powerful DC system sucking the chips out, the
chips get recirculated inside the housing and get slammed back into the
surface of the wood. If you look at the wood in the right light, sometimes
you can even see the little skid marks. Also softwoods like pine are
inherently difficult to plane due to the sometimes large growth patterns. I
have been working with reclaimed pine and poor quality pine for a few years,
mostly as an experiment. The nightmares never end. LOL