Mmporsche, Brinkmann will cost more than you are planning to spend. I also suspect that it is in a totally different league. If you are ready for that you are ready to audition it.
Though I didn’t hear the Parasound phono stage, I never heard of anything world class for this kind of money, not even a single cable.
It also depends on the cartridge. Assuming adequate prices, phono stage should be two/three times more expensive than cartridge, in my opinion. It is a very important link, aren’t they all? Besides, you might want to have a tube phono stage or at least compare tube and solid state. That mid-level transistor phono might destroy your sound.
Though I didn’t hear the Parasound phono stage, I never heard of anything world class for this kind of money, not even a single cable.
It also depends on the cartridge. Assuming adequate prices, phono stage should be two/three times more expensive than cartridge, in my opinion. It is a very important link, aren’t they all? Besides, you might want to have a tube phono stage or at least compare tube and solid state. That mid-level transistor phono might destroy your sound.