Budget phono stage- advice appreciated

Take note. The Lehmann Audio Black Cube sells for a MSR of 678DM in Germany (tax included). At today's exchange rate, that is about $350. Whenever my friends come over from the USA to visit me in Germany, I always recommend to them to buy a Black Cube here and change the power supply once they get back.

I'm surprised that no-one has yet mentioned the E.A.R. 834P; having auditioned most of the components suggested above, I humbly suggest that the 834P is in an entirely different, and much higher, class, for about the same cost. With all due respect, the Lehmann just cannot compare, having many additive shortcomings, including falsely etched "detail" and a hashy and sibilant treble. Simply, it is very hi-fi sounding, but not very true to the music -- it produces a couple of sonically spectacular effects at the cost of the live emotional vibrancy of music. After a live concert the E.A.R can still satisfy; the above alternatives will, by comparison, sound much more like a poor and mechanical reproduction.

I just placed an order for the DB Systems DB-8 phono preamp. I also did not want to spend alot. Check out the review at Soundstage, it was convincing enough for me to place the order. As the review says, this is a no brainer. MM is $150 and MC is $175. You can upgrade to teflon jacks for additional $25 (I chose not to). They have no web site but you can call them for literature.

Musical Surroundings Phonomena. Does absolutely nothing wrong in my pinion. Probably will be somewhat too noisy for extremely low output cartidges, but then, so are most phono stages...Anyway, you ought to hear my Phonomena, with my Lo4. But, it will COMMAND your attention with musical invlovement, Jeff, so you might want to get a less involving stage. I get very easily distracted by music while I'm working, and of course would never consider using a vinyl source as a "casual" medium for music at any time. A casual, hands free medium with less performance already exists: FM radio.

Mjm forgot to mention how much the Black Cube compresses the dynamic range. The E.A.R. 834P is in a different league, being twice as expensive as the Black Cube, at least in my country. I thought that the price range of the phono preamp in question in this thread should be below $400.