Best sounding phono preamp under $600

I've been living with a Musical Fidelity X-LPS for the past year or so. It's funny how blind we can be. I've been singing its praises since it arrived. Well, I just picked up a Musical Surroundings Phonomena earlier tonight for $300. Here's my impression after a couple of hours of listening:

Grateful Dead's Touch of Grey has never sounded more three dimensional. I've listened to this album many times, but Jerry's voice has never sounded so real and throaty. Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon has never sounded so open and airy. In particular, Breath felt huge with lots of space around it. There's a completely new spaciousness going on in my living room. Sound is coming from behind and to the sides of my speakers where it's never come from before. I've been waiting for this upgrade for a long time, but didn't know where to find it. The skeptic in me has kept me from looking for it in a phono preamp. I've been let down so many times with "must-have upgrades," that I've become numb to the hype. This one has proven me wrong and it's exciting. My bass has improved too. It's hard to pin it all down, but there's a significant improvement going on. "An Evening with Windham Hill Live" (1983) has never sounded so absolutely real. It's one of the best recordings I've ever heard, so it sounds good on any system, but it took on a whole new dimension tonight. I was listening to Fleetwood Mac Rumors last night, so it was fresh in my mind. I heard something new on "Dreams" that sounded like someone was outside howling. Stevie Nicks does some sort of echoed scream that sounds like it's coming from somewhere else. It's very cool! My speakers are disappearing like they've never done before. I just found the component that brings my system to a new level. I thought it would be an expensive cd player, but when that didn't happen, I thought it would be a tube preamp. When that didn't do it, I thought bi-amping would clinch the deal. When that didn't do it, I bought different speaker wire. On and on and on... In terms of upgrades, this one ranks at the very top. My X-LPS is going up for sale as soon as possible. I've never felt so detached from a piece of old equipment. I usually want to keep it for sentimental reasons, but not this time. I'm in love with the Phonomena! I'm running it with a Denon DL-103 on a Micro Seiki DQX-500 with an RB300 arm rewired with Incognito. -Mark

Mark - thanks for your suggestion on the Musical Fidelity X-LPS; I will definately check it out. I'm in the process of getting a Nottingham Horizon with an RB300 arm and will be running either a Ortofon X5 or Denson DL-160; may have to look into going back to the Denon 103; had that with a Linn LP-12/Ittock years ago but was using a cheap Denon stepup transformer at the time. I see our musical tastes are very similar; I've been listening to stuff like Cat Steven's Tea for the Tillerman and Alan Parson's Gaudi; just picked up a bunch of used albums at a local antique dealer for $1 apiece that look like they've never been played. Many of these old albums sound better than the CD.

Colitas - I presently am using the Jolida JD-9 and really like it with NOS Amperex 12AX7s.

Bob, I'm sorry for the confusion. My comments were in regards to the Musical Surroundings Phonomena. Not the Musical Fidelity X-LPS. I should have been much more clear in my intro. Sorry about that. -Mark

Bob, I want to add one more thing that struck me last night and that you reminded me of. Vinyl now sounds significantly better on my system than cd. This wasn't the case before the Musical Surroundings Phonomena. Most people will find budget phono preamps (like the X-LPS) to sound good. It's difficult to destroy the airiness of vinyl, but the X-LPS won't seduce you like the Phonomena. The Phonomena opens up a whole new dimension. With the exception of "An Evening with Windham Hill Live," all of the above albums were standard issue. I often buy used vinyl for one or two bucks.

If you're going to buy a new cartridge, go with the Denon DL-103R, not the standard 103. The DL-103 and 103R are leaps and bounds better than the Denon DL-160. I encourage you to read this Agon review:

Review: Denon DL 103R Cartridge
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/frr.pl?ranlg&1034089946

-Mark