Helping a kid out


So long story short I got neighbor kid into audio and to appreciate listening to music on something other than a cheap Bluetooth speaker.  He’s pretty young but a good kid, a hard working honest kid.  So far he’s accumulated his old mans Dual turntable that I helped him clean up and installed an Ortofon 2M Blue on it, a nice but older Marantz integrated and a pair of Elac Debut 2.0 B6.2 speakers.  I hooked him up with a pair of Kimber 8TC speaker cables I had retired a while ago (lol, probably making them the most expensive part of his system).  He’s looking to upgrade and I suggested trying out a dedicated phono stage.  I’m assuming his budget is in the $200 range and I told his old man I wouldn’t let him buy something stupid.  I had no idea the sheer volume of phono stages in this price range on the market.  What would you guys and gals suggest?  My knee jerk reaction is Schitt Mani and I read a few good things about a Bellari unit but holy cow the choices are infinite.  Maybe something a little higher end but used?  Extra points if it can be purchased from Amazon but that’s by no means a deal breaker.
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Why not explore the second hand market, dealer trade ins etc, must be some decent $400 units going for around the $200 Mark.
I'll donate a soldering iron if you need one, only if it's passed around to any other kid who wants it next. Love this thread.   

This thread is a breathe of fresh air.  Yes, it is satisfying when you have the opportunity the mentor a young person.  It is great you are taking the time to do this.

The bottlehead sounds like a great project and it has got to sound great.  Make sure to spend some time looking at some videos on the art of soldering.  There are clearly right and wrong ways to do this--you may even find some tips on line regarding the build of this particular unit.  

If for some reason this project doesn't come to fruition, I can give a thumbs up on the Bellari.  I am listening to it right now for the last 2 hours.  I use it in a headphone based system for early morning listening.  It drives my Sennheiser HD660s with ease sourced from a Project table with an Ortofon Super OM20e cartridge.  Picked up a couple of premium tubes to have a little fun with inexpensive tube rolling.  I love this little system.  Very musical, smooth yet detailed, invites you to listen for hours.  You can also upgrade the PS if you want.  You can't go wrong for the price and I wonder if it is not a bit more "fun" than the Mani.