Stand out phono stages

The PS Audio GCPH is a great performer for the money. I performed some minor mods by encasing the toroidal transformer with a 1-1/2" strip of lead and gluing small strips of lead on any IC's and caps.

Very quiet with my Audio Technica 33EV MC cart. The balanced XLR's sound better than unbalanced.

I have owned the Einstein The Turntable's Choice phono stage for the last four years and have been quite happy with it. It easily beat both the hotrodded Vendetta SCP2T and the Blowtorch which I had previously owned. About two years ago, I began to hear rumblings about a phonostage from a Greek company Ypsilon, the VPS-100. About a year ago, there was an extremely positive review by Michael Fremer. Again, I am a fossil and tend to move very slowly on these things. Last night, a friend helped me install the VPS-100 in my system. It is seldom that when you install a new piece the improvement is so major as to be instantly obvious even when the unit is cold. This is by far the best phonostage that I have heard by quite a wide margin. For context, I use a Rockport Sirius with an Ortofon A90.

I replaced a PSA GCPH with an EAR 324 (both run balanced-out). While it's true that the former is nice for the money, it's also true that the difference in price for the latter is an accurate reflection of the improvement in sound.

The Experience Music Kahn LCR phono stage is the best I've ever heard.

As good as the EAR 324 is, the Einstein Turntable's Choice beats it. It is close to hearing "nothing" from the phono. But you need to leave the Einstein warmed up for a couple of days at least to get its full potential.