Recommended pre amp's w/excellent phono stage

i have a conrad johnson pv10A pre amp that has an excellent phono stage.it is paired with a b&k ss amp.the pv10A comes up now and then in the classifieds.if you can get it for $600 or under it is a steal.cj will also upgrade it to 10B status for about $300.

Rega Hal is a good choice for budget analog system. I have ever compared Rega with Lehmann Black Cube and cant locate the difference.

If using moving magnet or hi-output (0.8 mv @ 5 cm/sec) cartridges, try the Audio Research SP 9 MK III. Using the tape-out outputs the SP 9 MK II was indistinguishable from the SP 14 (the line stage was more veiled, less good overall, but also less "hard" sounding at times). The upgrade to the MK III substitutes MIT Caps for Wondercaps, doubles power supply capacitance, and improves grounding, resulting in much better bass extension and dynamics and less system grunge. The unit is still VERY sensitive to line noise, so I suggest using a sound conditoner or VESA blocks. Phono overload is 200 mv @ 1 K, and it maintains equivalent overload at 10 K. This, combined with relatively low noise levels makes it sound very dynamic. It is best used with a more up-to-date line stage (or maybe its the 6922's in the system; I much prefer the sound using the ARC LS 16 MK II). Also, consider getting a kit for an IEC power connection that is said to be available from Len at ARC.

Good hunting!

Well there is used Bryston (but only if you like your phono stages dead quiet, some people like the HF hash that they interpret as "air" or "detail". Real air and detail is different and harder to do.)

Also Van Alstine often has some great used preamps with phono stages and they usually sound damned good.

Bryston and Van Alstine products have the (audiophile) liability of being utterly stable and non tweaky in behavior.