Which Phono Preamp for my System????

In order to properly give you advice, we need to know what the output is on your phono cartridge. (i.e. is it a MM or a MC, if the later, a high output or low output?)

Also, in reviewing your system, and looking at the list of phono preamp candidates you listed, it appears, (to me at least), that the rest of your system is well beyond these phono preamps, in terms of sonic quality. I would consider increasing your budget. Given that you are already listening to music on near SOTA components, to go down to merely good components might not really give you the sound you are looking for. (I believe that the phono preamp is the cornerstone of a good analog system. IMHO anyway.)

PS If you have not used your turntable, and therefore your cartridge, for a few years, it is possible (probable?) that the suspension on the cartridge has lost it flexibility, and therefore will not function as it once did. You will probably need to get a new cartridge, which means you should tailor the cartridge to your new phono preamp. (I highly recommend getting a MC cartridge myself.)

Calgarian,

What cartridge are you using? If you have a lower output moving coil, gain may be an issue with some of your choices. Two others you might consider are the Cambridge 640p and the Monolithic PS-1/2. I'm currently using the Monolithic PS-1 with the HC-1b power supply and it's been great for that price range.

In any event, the rest of your system is pretty nice, so I would counsel not spending much at this juncture. If you decide you like vinyl and the whole ritual, I suspect you'll want to upgrade the Axis, cartridge, and phono preamp very quickly. If you decide vinyl doesn't work for you, you won't have much invested.

It's always worth the effort to try vinyl - you might just love it. I do!

David

Shortly after reading Grado's white papers on their PH-1, I found one at Echo Audio in Portland, OR and bought it. Grado's design made sense to me and I liked the price and fact that it works with low to high output cartridges.
I haven't seen much feedback on the web on this unit, but I am very satisfied with it's performance and aesthetics.
Howell

Thank you for your reply. I purchased the Linn Axis many years ago, and obtained the Linn K9 moving magnet (I believe this was Linn's entry level MM) cartridge to pair up with the turntable. I know it's not SOTA, and I'm not sure if the turntable, itself, warrants an upgraded cartridge OR a phono preamp beyond the <$500 models I've listed in my original thread. If I were to get an MC cartridge, it would likely be a high-output MC. I'm just planning on using the turntable the odd time I get nostalgic and want to listen to some of my older tunes.

I have very little experience with turntables other than what I've told you. Without having to change turntables (assuming my Linn Axis is still ok...???), what would you recommend for cartridge/phono-preamp? I would prefer not going over $1000 for both (used phono-preamp along with new cartridge) if possible. There must be some good bang-for-your-buck values out there! If I absolutely need to go beyond the $1000 price point to get something decent, what would you recommend?

Thanks again,
Calgarian