I would recommed a used EAR 834P in the $600-700 range. These are far better than the aforementioned Black Cube, Phenomena, Plinius Jarrah or other similarly priced solid state phono preamps. The EAR is easily one of the best phono stages you can own and they only retail for $995. The Audio Research will give you more extended highs and a tighter bottom end than the EAR, but it is not any more musical than the EAR, and it may be out of your price range. Expect to pay around $900 for a PH3 and $1400 for a PH3SE. Because of their price and the universally excellent reviews, there are many more EAR phono stages available used than the Audio Research. If you are looking for the best bang for your buck you cannot go wrong with the 834P.
Phono Stage Pre Amp
I'm looking for recommendations on a decent phono stage so I can try vinyl in my system. From the posts I've read, it looks like a vpi scout is a good entry level tt. The question now is how much do I have to spend on a phono stage to surpass what I'm getting out of my current system?