Recommendations for MM Phono ~ Tube or Solid State

1.2K GBP is about $1.5K these days.

@pindac stated " What caught me out is that certain US Brands in Phonostages and Amp's that are imports to the UK are discovered to be heavily discounted when ending up as sale items in the UK used market, using the US used pricing for the 3160, I suspected the same Phon' discovered in the UK as a used sale would not stretch a budget much more than £1200".

Depreciation is Depreciation, not much in a market place avoids its impact. Much of the depreciation witnessed on a product is seemingly governed by how desirable it is to be owned. I would suggest if a Product plummets in Value over time when it is offered as used sale item, as a product it has not got too much interest attached to it in the Market Place. This seems to be not so different to a New Product becoming Heavily Discounted if the Turnover of sales does not take off as the sales were projected for it.      

Myself, I don't judge a device for its capability to make an Impression based solely on Price of the Device. For myself, a decision made, is based on the function of the finished build and how the experiencing of the end sound has the capability for creating an impression as being attractive and wanted to be maintained.

It is this interest in experiencing the end sound that is able to be produced, that has been the stimulus to encourage myself to travel multiple thousands of miles as round trips to share in listening experiences of a broad range of audio devices. 

After having quite a selection of experiences of being sat in front of Demo's of Commission Designed and Built Devices or Self Built Designs vs Commercially Produced Designs in systems up to £200Kish in Value. I have been able to develop my Experiential Learning to the point where I stand confident in what I class as insights into how a broad range of Audio Equipment is able to function. I have certainly became a not so easy candidate to be swayed by opinion of others.

I am happy to report on the 'Gon' on occasions, a Build for a Audio Device that required a BOM of approx' £2K as a finished and functioning design, that has been more than capable as a design, to sit side by side in comparison with a similar functioning Audio Device that costs close to £50K. I can also happily state, this is not a 'one off experience'. I have been introduced to BOM's for a device that have been to myself attractive to consider, that when heard as the functioning end design, has proved to be more than capable as a performer, when compared to much more expensive commercial designs.

The cost of a device means very little to Myself. The design for the electronics and the end sound able to be produced as a result of the design selected is what really matters to myself.

It is very evident that there are a smallish proportion of  individuals, that are not so Taxing when creating their Business Model that is allowing others to buy into their designs for Audio Devices.

It is also very very evident there is a Business Model from a much larger proportion of another type of individual. That are ready and waiting in the Wings to add a Substantial Tax and even a Stealth Tax to enable an individual to buy into the broader available ranges of this groups Designs.

Some Companies are the Pinnacle of this Marketing Philosophy, where the Business Model is seemingly for, Low Volume Sales, which is used to Justify Substantial High Profit Margins on Products that are a so called unobtanium design that can't be offered from other competing suppliers.

It is almost like these Companies are actually suggesting they are so unique, they are owning the electricity being sent through the devices they supply to be used in a Audio System and no other can get to their special source of electricity. To myself, when the notion is being planted, that  something quite ubiquitous 'is unobtanium elsewhere',  'smoke and mirrors' comes to mind 

The following is a few very recent words from the Owner of darTZeel

"But above all, the race to offer the most expensive product, claiming it’s better, while giving ever larger discounts to end users".

"This trend, though not new, is now rotting the extreme High-End market and is destroying the industry".

" I, Hervé Delétraz, founder and creator of the darTZeel brand, have decided that this business model no longer aligns with my vision of Extreme High End".

My point was merely to correct you as regards the current exchange rate between pound and dollar.  First, you estimated that a used Essential 3160 can be found for $2500, and then you estimated you could find one in the UK for only 1200 GBP, which is much less than $2500. US$2500 is more like 1950 GBP. I now see that you simply mis-estimated the exchange rate.  There is also a question whether the 3160 can run on 240V.  Possibly it can do so; I think there is a switch on the rear of the PS chassis or inside the PS chassis, for that, but maybe not.

No matter what most of us say, most of us (including you and I) at least occasionally fall into the trap of equating cost with level of performance, which is nearly always misleading if not plain wrong.

All this fuss over a phono which is pretty much unobtainable 🙄

One never knows, does one? I hadn’t mentioned the Essential 3160 previous to your question about what stage has separate MM and MC circuits, because of its rarity. But if you can find one, I can recommend it very highly. Actually, Raul may be able to help you acquire one, from someone who is moving "up" to the 3180. Another company that makes phono stages with multiple separate RIAA circuits is DSA. Their Phono III, which offers not one, not two, but three discrete RIAA circuits that can operate in balanced or unbalanced mode and with very flexible gain set separately for each circuit. Nothing tops that for flexibility. I heard an early version in my home courtesy of Doug Hurlburt, the designer. Very good.