Best Phono stage under $1200? Audiomat?

For your information, the Camelot is connected with Mel
Shilling, famed audio dealer and enthusiast at one time
in California. He made a moving coil preamp during the
Seventies, which I still use, and it sounds great. He has
highly recommended the Camelot...available I believe through
a large mail order house...Knowing his ear and his reputation, you can probably rely on the Camelot as an
excellent pre-preamp for moving coils. Just don't use the
lowest output moving coils with it..I don't own one, but
plan to get one soon...

Electrocompaniet ECP-1 $995,MM and MC very musical its not a tweakers phono preamp but probably one of if not the best phono stages under $1200 I've tried McCormick, Audio Researh, Lehmann Black Cube.

At less than $650 new, this one is quite nice.

New EAR 834P, used Sonic Frontiers Phono One.
(not the older SF model, the current Stereophile class A rated model)

For what it's worth, with my ho-hum analog set up (Shure V-15 cartridge and not-very-audiophile Denon 'table) I have heard the Rotel, the Lehmann Cube, and the Phenomena. The rest of my electronics are tube. The Phenomona was my favorite of the phono preamps I heard and I bought it. Black Cube was impressive in its dynamics and detail, but I liked the Phenomena better because it sounded harmonically richer, made the music more coherent and flow more naturally, did less to emphasize surface noise, and had better esthetics, not requiring an outboard power cord. I think it's a bargain for $700. I have not heard the Phenomenon with its optional battery pack, which is supposed to raise it to even greater heights.