What's A Good Upgrade From A Manley Steelhead?


I'm on a mission to improve my vinyl front-end. Starting point is to replace the Graham 2.2 on my Basis Audio Debut Gold Vacuum, followed by a new compatible cartridge, next will be a different phonostage.

I like the Steelhead but I'm sure there's something better out there. I've around $8K  to play with and prefer to buy used. Has anyone stepped up from the Steelhead successfully, if so, what did you buy and how much of an improvement was it?

Appreciate any thoughts/ideas? 

rooze

@rooze There have been times when I thought the Steelhead might be holding me back from pure listening bliss. The culprit proved to be one mediocre pressing after another. Perhaps a present-day state of the art phono stage would have made them sound more appealing. In fact, I don't doubt it. 

I don’t know how you would step UP from the Steelhead? It’s 10 grand. It’s as good as it gets. It’s pretty much the Bugatti Chiron of phono stages. You can go sideways or down. Looking at your system, you would benefit more from different speakers....

they bought the Bugatti name that was dead for 50 years, hard to say what's real

You ever hear a Steelhead? Have one in your system? I did, for several years. 

Your statement that it can't be surpassed is incorrect. I'm trying to be polite. 

And there is a way to vet a vintage Bugatti, but it requires some depth. I don't pretend to have that knowledge, though I'm familiar with the cars that Ettore made.