The best phono stage out there?

Well, I owned the PHD, the Manley steelhead w/ a Mcintosh C2200 preamp. I sold the the PHD and loved (thought I loved) the Manley....... I changed all the tubes and thought ...this is it! ( Oh, forgot to mention....table Basis DebutSignature Vaccuum table, Graham Phantom Dynavector XV1S) Bought a Mcintosh C2300......MUCH better than the Manley....Sold the Manley and ended up w/ Tron7 signature w/ NOS Telefunkens......ABSOLUTE MAGIC!! The C2300has an incredible phono stage and is a VERY CLOSE second place to the tron. My .02cents........

I have owned various phono stages SS and Tubes.

The best i have heard so far is dedicate Kondo KSL-M7 phono, stand alone phono.

Hi, My other cartridge on the second arm is the Audio Note IO2v stright into a Kondo AN-s9s tranny then into the Allnic H-3000. Works great.

My other cartridge is a XV1s fed into an Expressive Tech SU1 which also works well with the Allnic.

The Allnic is in your price range a tad over $10K and has the ability to accept 4 tonearm/cartridge combos.

I am sure like as some mentioned, the Kondo M7 is another killer piece but might be outta your price range.

Ecka, I am currently using the low output (.24mv) ZYX Airy 3X SB Cartridge. Settings on my Sutherland PhD are 62db Gain (lowest setting on the High gain Boards). I could've used 60db Gain as well, and possibly 64db without detriment. Loading is set at the suggested 100 Ohms, with fine results.

I'm sure all units mentioned here are all of the very best, of this I have no doubt. There will always be just too many variables with any given piece of equipment. What might shine in your system, might sound lackluster, or quite different in another's. I think we can all agree on that much.

And the other is of course, extracting the very best from the equipment you have, and I would bet in quite a few cases, incorrect set-up of Cartridge, and Phono Stage can account for much.

If you do not have such a tool, or a tool of comparable quality, definitely consider a high quality Protractor, such as the Mintlp, sold by Yip in Hong Kong. He's dependable, will ship anywhere in the world, and I'd bet the majority of responders here will all tell you the exact same thing, that the Mintlp Protractor has made very pleasing, notable improvements in all of thier system's sound. I, without any reservation, highly recommend this tool. It is worth its cost. Mark

A great product in your price range, maybe one of best in the world (IMHO), is the Wavestream Phono Unit. It's a Scott Franklin tube design. It's neutral, quiet while being very musical. You can buy it with one, two or up to three phono inputs. FYI, Wavestream produces a great tube Line Unit.

BTW: Audio Note pre-amp with a phono section might be a good choice with your step up tranny. There are two listed now.