Budget phono stage- advice appreciated

I own the Black Cube and have been VERY pleased with it. I bought mine used for $450 and think it's a superb buy at that price. I find the comments about "compression" of the audio signal by the Cube interesting, since I have NOT experienced such a phenomenon. To the contrary, I think the dynamics of this preamp are excellent. I am using a Shure V15VxMR cartridge, which has sufficient voltage output that I use the lower gain setting on the Cube. Are the people who think the Cube compresses the signal using low-output MC cartridges?

A second thought I should have included in my previous post. The Black Cube is now being sold in an upgraded version, which I am told has an improved op-amp stage. The Cube I currently own is this later version. Are the other writers on this thread using the older version of the Cube?

Compression is very apparent on dynamic recordings: try percussion ensembles (E. Varese, Xenakis), some Decca reissues (Bartok, Resphigi), some Harmonia Mundi France ("Atrium Musicae de Madrid" recordings) if you want to experience it. Even ride cymbals are compressed on most jazz remasters. My Black Cube--the one with the compression problems--is old. It still has the old company name on it: Entec. What is the name of your upgraded version? I heard from a friend of Lehmann that he has been trying to develop a more expensive top-of-the-line phono preamp for years. But all of them sound like the Black Cube. Despite my criticisms, the Black Cube is probably the "best bang for the buck" (the type of product that Lehmann Audio explicitly wants to produce anyway): I prefer it to the Creek, and the Musical Fidelity.