Stand out phono stages

oh, and at the same price as the Nova Phonomenon, the Heed, although it would be silly to consider either of those as a contender for best at any price.

dealer disclaimer, although not necessarily for all of my above suggestions.

Any opinions here on the Graham Slee Era Gold V? I have the baby Slee and love it, but wonder what/how much I'm missing...

The Era Gold V, used for around $625, is a great bargain but it doesn't belong in a select group of "stand out" phono stages.

Neither, however, do the JLTI or Ear 834 that the thread originator discusses. Or for that matter, many of the others mentioned.

You can definitely spend more money and maybe exceed the performance slightly in one or two areas, but the Einstein phonostage is quite good. It is quiet, dynamic, transparent and very detailed with very good bass. It also embodies a nice combination of tube and solid state virtues and is reliable and very listenable. Ultimately, what you choose will depend on the money which you have to spend, your sonic priorities and the remainder of your system.

THank you all for your enthusiastic responses!!!
I take all your responses serious. But want to reiterate that I was hoping to see more of a one prize-winner that outshone all others. HERE is an example: mbl 101es. They by far sound more life-like than any other speaker at the shows I visited. If consumer grade stereo electronics score a 60 and high end audio spoken of here on audiogon score a 90 than mbl scores a 110 IMHO. Forgive me if I praise the mbl's without mentioning the other topguns that deserve to be mentioned. I am sure there are others which I am not aware of that approach the caliber of mbl but that can be saved for another thread. Thanks again.