@millercarbon
In general though I think unless it is a very low output cartridge then the odds are about equal to screw it up as make it better.
it was great to listen with you Friday night, enjoyed meeting your wife.
just FYI, everything you heard was through my pair of EMIA silver 1:10 SUT’s.
http://myemia.com/SUT.htmli really like the performance; i believe it equals or surpasses most any active phono preamps unless you get north of $50k.
my viewpoint is that i’m able to add 2 more top level phono channels by adding 2 reasonably priced SUT’s (list price $4250 each for silver wound, copper wound $2750) to my CS Port phono which while not cheap, plays way above it’s $17k list price. since the CS Port has 2 MM inputs in addition to it’s single MC input. and the only extra cable i need is two simple 18" sets of RCA’s. they were a few hundred dollars each.
my viewpoint is no way could i get this level of performance for the $$$ from three inputs without using SUT’s, and i think that scales to lower price points too if you are careful and buy smart.
and if SUT’s make your eyes roll back in your head because the math and the science is beyond you on how to choose an SUT, i’m with you. Dave Slagle of EMIA held my hand, sent me a set of SUT’s to try, and helped me figure out exactly what SUT’s i needed. so not understanding SUT’s does not need to be a problem. i still don't know crap about SUT's but i enjoy their goodness every day.