What is the best phono preamp you have heard?

Dear Rapogee: Other than our self design: Vendetta Research and FM Acoustics.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Can't say, because I've heard precious few in my own system. But, I have "heard" (i.e., they were in systems that I heard playing) the Connoisseur, the top-of-the-line Boulder, an Audionote (uk) M-10, and a Kondo rig (I think M-77 with stepup). The best I've heard in my own system, which I plan on purchasing, is the VivA Fono (an Italian tube-based phono stage with input transformers). It worked well for me with my Lyra Titan once I experimented with a demonstration model by removing loading resistors and changing the type of 12AX7 tubes it utilizes (it was originally optimized for a Transfiguration Orpheus).

Would the answer to the best phono stage be a cartridge dependant answer or is it an absolute for "most" cartridges?

Dear Dgad: In my opinion the phonopreamp don't depend on the cartridge in use ( other that the cartridge output level ), as a fact a cartridge quality sound reproduction depends on the phonopreamp in use.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Dear Rapogee: There is a critical audio link that in my opinion all of us must to take in count to give you answers to your " open " question: that critical audio link is the line stage preamp where we ( all ) paired those phono stages.

Normally the stand alone phono stages needs a line preamp for it can work. For to do this we need additional connectors and interconnect cables and the line preamp it self. This line preamp must be accurate, very low distortions, transparent/clean and very well balanced top to botoom.

Maybe some of you can think that your line preamp is a " star " one and maybe it is, but I can tell you that there are only a few line preamps with a top quality sound reproduction. That's why we decided to design and build our phonolinepreamp in an integrated way: the synergy between both stages is of paramount importance and you can't make any compromise here.
Our phono stage design is a great one but our line stage design is a great one too: same quality performance level!!!!

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.