I've heard both the EMIA and the Ypsilon (on different days driving the same downstream components), and I own a Steelhead v2. You can't go wrong with either of the higher priced alternatives; they both sounded great to me, also using both a Ypsilon SUT and an EMIA SUT, on different occasions. I cannot recall any important differences with any of those combinations. Both are probably a hair better than the Steelhead (with the caveat that I did not hear the Steelhead driving that same particular system), but the Steelhead does offer the option of selectable gain up to 65db, negating the need and added expense of any SUT. Plus, the Steelhead is amenable to a little tweak that I performed on mine that significantly improved its transparency. Tough call, unless cost within this wide range is no object.
You might also want to consider other expensive phono stages that do provide gain enough for an LOMC cartridge, without requiring a SUT. I would strongly urge you to consider a top line balanced, current-driven phono stage, if your cartridge choice is confined to LOMCs with very low internal impedance. Or buy one of those and also buy either the EMIA or the Ypsilon, for your high output cartridges; you can get a very high quality current-driven phono for very little more cost than a top line SUT.
