Stand out phono stages

I've owned the Atmasphere MP3,the PHD, and now the Steelhead.

All very good at what they do, and better than all of the built in phono stages on older preamps that I owned like the Premier two, Audible Illusions 3a,Sonic Frontiers slp1,and even the original Levisnon JC 2 that I felt was the only SS phono stage that was decent in a preamp.

I've listened to my friends Nagra phono stage and felt it was also quite appealing, but I never owned one or used it in my system.

There are lots of choices and designs, and IMOP any of the aforementioned phono stages in this thread would be a great asset to any vinyl set up.

But flexibilty if you contemplate swapping cartridges, can narrow the search,so features matter.

I have just acquired an Audia Flight Phono stage and, boy, is it good. Vocalists are now front and square in the room with you and musicians are clearly defined by their location in the expanded sound stage. First time ever the bass has rattled my windows. This Phono stage really digs deep and sounds not heard previously with the same clarity can startle. It is also built like a tank and oozes quality. Many hundreds of pleasant hours ahead becoming re-acquainted with my vinyl collection. Check it out.

"Goatwuss,

When you compared the Basis and PS Audio GCPH, did you run the same loading on the cartidge for both preamps? I know the GCPH has a number of loading options, and the sound can change dramatically depending on the cartridge. What loading did you use when comparing the two and what cartridge?"

Yes, I used the same loading. 100 ohms on my Audio Technica AT33-PTG

I'm extremely happy with mine. I had Joe Fratus do the updates last year and that made it a little more transparent which works well with my system.

Sorry, it's an Art Audio Vinyl One.