Is Coincident Statement Phono pre-amp an overkill

I'd say that it's obvious you'll want a good quality TT, tonearm and
cartridge, all are important. You have to start somewhere and beginning
with a recognized and praised phono stage that's available for a discounted
price is a fine opportunity(and has an excellent line section built in).
Starting with a lesser quality phono only to upgrade later usually costs
more in the long run. All components have a learning curve, this isn't
unique to analog. You have an excellentCoincident Dragon amp and thus a
very solid foundation. No need to make things more complicated than need
be.
Listen to live music (particularly acoustic instruments) and you'll develop
an ear for natural sound. You'll discover (or may already have) that some
types of components are more realistic and natural than others. Trust your
hearing and your spontaneous and emotional response.
Charles,

Essrand go for it - one component at a time. My philosophy is buy the piece you really want and upgrade when you can or you might even find you don't need to upgrade. A statement piece in your system might make upgrading other components unnecessary because you might be completely satisfied with your sound.

OTOH compromise and you may be on the upgrade train forever...a well worn path of disappointment for many.

The Statement Phono adds an analog flavor to my digital source. It sounds very good. However, my Wadia 781i has its own volume control, and I prefer digital music to sound digital as-is. If you plan on hooking up a CD player, it will do the job as a line stage very well, and you can roll tubes to suit your tastes.

The Statement Phono is very quiet, its almost unbelievable you are listening to records. It is very true to the sound your turntable makes.

I would ask Israel Blume, does his phono stage have a true "linestage" built in, or do the aux inputs simply interpose the volume control between the CDP or other high level source and the amplifier. There is an important difference, if the linestage function is crucial to you.

I talked to Israel, he says that the "line-stage" in the phono is passive (no gain), so its not a "true" linestage.