Phono stages belong to which tier?

Aesthetix io
Alaap MKII
Allnic h3000
ASR Exclusive
Atma-sphere mp-1
Audia Flight
Audio Reference 2
Dartzeel nhb-18ns
Essential 3160
Einstein Balanced
FM Acoustic
Klyne 7x 3.5
Lamm Lp2
Lyra 4.2p se
Manley Steelhead
Messenger
Nagra Vps
Tron Seven signature
TW Acustic
Wavestream Kinetics
Walker
Zanden 1200

John Curl is being John Curl, that's a positive, ringing out the best performance possible before he'll release it for production. It should good! You'll notice that his designs are SOTA but also remain that way for years without rev after rev. I'm really looking forward to getting one.

Gerry,
Are you still happy with the Wavestream phono stage?  I'm considering it as well as an ASR Basis.  How is the background noise level (tube rush, etc.) of the Wavestream?

Thanks in advance,
AC

Another Whest owner here. Whest makes ONLY phono stages.  I have a PS30RDT-Special Edition--absolutely dead quiet.  I bought a B-stock from the factory for less than  Ebe  quoted a  30rdt. Upgraded from a Moon 5.3.  No comparison--one thing I was after was tonal color/accuracy, which this has--the 5.3 is a good  'stage for the price, but tonal color discrimination on orchestral instruments lacking.The 30 series has been replaced by the 40 series. They make at least 6 models, the top of the line the $18k monoblocks.  Gain adjustable from 44 to 72 db.  I have a Soundsmith 'the Voice' which has 2.2 mV output--needs around 55db gain, many 'stages aren't that flexible.  Just not many dealers in US.  I agree with your statement of importance of phono stage--James told me I was overbuying in the SE, but I'll never have to upgrade again.
Good luck, and enjoy.

Dear All
some serious stages out-there I must say.
I have a Vendetta SCP2A (recapped and with quieter IC's) and just stopped testing stages after that.
I have heard the likes of Soulution, Constellation, FM, and Nagra (sadly not the Connoisseur) within systems, and as such it is all but impossible to isolate the component save to say that there must be a clear 'voicing' with the other components. I must say I loved the Constellation system and the FM Acoustics best.
I agree with the OP and genuinely believe that once you get to certain level of turntable it is in fact the phono stage that is the most important part of the vinyl replay chain due to the job it has.