I am a pretty big fan of the Mc C22. A bit below your budget but it is an impressive unit. I like it better than the PS Audio BHK which I have owned and the phono stage in the C22 is far better than it should be.
The PS Audio BHK is an interesting unit. Some people might prefer it to the C22 Don’t even plug it in with the stock tubes. But a pair of NOS Tunsgrams will bring it to life. I like the C22 better but could see where someone would prefer the BHK as it is probably a hair...cleaner sounding.
If you are considering CJ, I would encourage you to check out the Art Audio Conductor. To be clear, I import this line so I am biased but in the same token, the brand has been around for 30 years and is pretty good sounding. It is single ended, has a great headphone amp.
I have a couple of customers who have older versions of our preamps paired with Mc amps and it sounds great.
What is interesting that the gain is adjustable and can be tailored to whatever levels you like. It ships standard with 0dB and 25dB. The 0dB pairs with the amp and the 25dB for the headphone amp. But this could easily be tailored to 6dB or 12dB and 25dB if you like or really any other value.
I have a demo in the US and will be showing it at Capital Audiofest. That unit will be sold after the show so I can bring in Conductor Simply2 for AXPONA.
If you want an equalizer, have you looked at the Roon Nucleus+? It had a really robust DSP/equalizer built in. You can set what frequencies you want to adjust across the audio spectrum. It is really cool.
The PS Audio BHK is an interesting unit. Some people might prefer it to the C22 Don’t even plug it in with the stock tubes. But a pair of NOS Tunsgrams will bring it to life. I like the C22 better but could see where someone would prefer the BHK as it is probably a hair...cleaner sounding.
If you are considering CJ, I would encourage you to check out the Art Audio Conductor. To be clear, I import this line so I am biased but in the same token, the brand has been around for 30 years and is pretty good sounding. It is single ended, has a great headphone amp.
I have a couple of customers who have older versions of our preamps paired with Mc amps and it sounds great.
What is interesting that the gain is adjustable and can be tailored to whatever levels you like. It ships standard with 0dB and 25dB. The 0dB pairs with the amp and the 25dB for the headphone amp. But this could easily be tailored to 6dB or 12dB and 25dB if you like or really any other value.
I have a demo in the US and will be showing it at Capital Audiofest. That unit will be sold after the show so I can bring in Conductor Simply2 for AXPONA.
If you want an equalizer, have you looked at the Roon Nucleus+? It had a really robust DSP/equalizer built in. You can set what frequencies you want to adjust across the audio spectrum. It is really cool.