which is better ? MC phono stage or MM+step-up ?

And yes - I agree with Atmasphere regarding avoiding ss input stages in tube phono preamps. Tempting as it is (oh, that extra gain...) - the trade off (sonically...) is too high a price. There is no free lunch ......
But in tube phono stages the prime slogan still is: "straight - no cheaser !"
While I have to admit that the JFet tailed hybrid input stages are always tempting from the point of view of a designer.

Yes, I have been told that getting the jfet gain stage to really sound right is not easy, which is why there are many bad examples out there.

I'll leave it to others to sway toward one approach or the other. I am only offering that there is more than one way to get to the music which is why there is a number of great phono stages available and they don't all use the same gain stages. There has to be an equal number of really bad ones of all designs. So, IMO there is no simple answer to the original question. As always, you have to live with/listen to any device for yourself and decide.

May I just say that I find this string to be very informative and fun.It is great having amp designers contributing their ideas and experiences.For someone like myself,being new to the SUT game,it is most enlightening.As I gain experience with my own SUT,the information presented does nothing but help me in my building a SUT.This is not only a hobby,but also a part of my musical life,which is at the core of my life long experiences.Thank you so very much to all.

e

Yes, there are many ways leading to Rome.
I've walked them all in the past 30 years.
However - there is only one Via Appia leading direct to the Capitol hill (not Washington DC, but ancient Rome, Italia ...) and the Forum Romanum.
You do bring a JFet hybrid phono input stage to superb results. Certainly enough to meet the quality of most any phono stage available on the market in the ears and eyes of most audiophiles and all reviewers.
But the very best phono stages aren't available commercially.
And they can do without the anabolica of JFet-tails.

Let me put one thing straight here from my point of view: it is not about SUT vs high gain phono stage.
These are not competitors in the race for phono gain.
A - precisely matched !! - step-up transformer should be viewed at as one half of the LOMC. Both devices do ask for the other. This is all about matching technical parameters depending on each other.
And doing so to bring out the optimum performance parameters - not because of gain, but because the right SUT provides the optimum working conditions for a LOMC.
And yes, - most LOMCs will work in a high-gain phono stage w/o SUT too. Most good phono stages do provide selectable impedance settings to further accommodate the LOMC. But they can't provide a matching inductance and I think this small factor is sadly neglected in most discussions about phono gain/LOMCs.