Can anyone recommend a Phono Pre Amp?

I believe Kevin Carter has a budget version of his K&K Phono Pre in the works that will sell for less than $1k. Also, if you are willing to "stretch" a little you might be able to find a used K&K for ~$1.2k.

Yeah, before I bought the ARC, I was looking seriously at the K&K...the only problems are that there is almost nowhere to hear one or try one out, and in the end, it's in kit form, which defintely hurts its resale value, despite what people say about it...

Has anyone heard the Eastern Electric Mini Max? I hear its a GIANT KILLER!

Having compared the Eastern Electric Mini Max against EAR834p in my system. I have to admit that the Eastern Electric completely trounced the EAR834p. The EAR834p sounded relatively flat and the image size is much smaller than the EE. I also agree that the JLTI is a little too dry for my taste, I much prefer Graham Slee Era Gold. I have also auditioned Conrad Johnson Premier-15.

But then the Dodd Phono ($1200) is in another league. I match it with none-other-than Dynavector 20XH. I have a very transparent/clean sounding speakers just like Martin Logan. I compared my system against three other very expensive rigs (I am talking about a system with BAT VK-P10SE, another system with Messenger preamp/phono, another system with ARC PH7 with all ARC Refs electronics), and I preferred the sound of my vinyl setup by a big margin.

The Dodd phono has similar tonality to the Graham Slee Era Gold, but the Dodd is more liquid and juicy, which instantly draws me into the music. The designer of the Dodd phono - Gary Dodd - he owns a Project TT too.

For a picture of how the Dodd phono looks like, see here:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3115/2686623321_b8323e5554.jpg

I am very happy with my Simaudio Moon LP5.3. Very quiet, natural, warm, detailed and rich. It goes for around $1K used on the 'gon.