which $800 used phono to buy?????

The Whest TWO is a great phono although it might be tough to find at 800 used. I had one and upgraded to its bigger brother P30R but was amazed at how well the TWO did against the next step up at twice the cost.

I demo'd the Fosgate and it couldnt hang with the Whest. To be fair the Fos didnt have much break in time but the difference was so great it had a long way to go.

you can buy a gcph for less than that new. A simaudio lp5.3 is within your price range used.

phono preamp comparison

I think the Linn Linto is fabulous at its used price of about $800. I was truly shocked at how much of a difference upgrading the phono stage made. True, it has no loading options, which will no doubt trouble many people, but it's still worthy of consideration IMO. Personally, I enjoy not having loading options. One less thing to screw around with.

Musical Surroundings Phonomena II.