Best cost no object tube phono

$10K is not cheap. The build quality is very decent but some capacitors in the signal path could be upgraded. I’ve done so in mine. No preamp on earth is worth $90K. I don’t care how many chassis’ are needed for stereo. Steelhead is frequently mentioned here, so I don’t know why you think it’s under the radar.

Mulveling, if 65db is not enough gain via the MC inputs, you can use a SUT into the MM inputs. And since you can have anywhere from 50 to 65db gain thru the MM inputs , plus the voltage gain added by a SUT, there is absolutely no cartridge on earth that has too low a voltage output for the Steelhead. I have run my AT ART7 with an output of 0.12mV via the Steelhead with no SUT. I am currently running my Ortofon MC2000 into the MM inputs using a pre preamp to boost cartridge output.

''The best'' assume comparison in the sense of ''quantification'':

''All x are Fx & Gx''. If there is one x which does not satisfy

conditions F&G than the statement is not true.

Who has inspected  ''all cartridges'' (Raul?).