Best Phono Pre-amp..for the money?

The PH3 is great at about $1k used. You have to hear it.

I'm using a Grado pickup through a Black Cube, sounds real good to these ears. The cube is the size of a deck of cards, and you can fool around with PC's, it's detachable. Can't miss with a used Cube

Sonic Frontiers Phono One, a current class A selection in Stereophile, lists for $2000 but shows up new for $1200 on Audiogon and used for under $1000. I think this is because it has been replaced by the $2500 SE version. Anyway, this unit has incredible authority and detail, quiet background, and tube palpability. I'm not a huge fan of the neutral Sonic Frontiers sound in other gear - I like it but it's not my first choice - but this phono stage IS my first choice.
Art

I've been told by toooo many people that they love the audio research ph2 (which is solid state) and these are people with an all tube system so it makes me take notice. there's one for sale here now for $750 (no im not the seller :-)

For the money you should check out www.space-tech-lab.com

i lived with their bottom of the line preamp linestage for a while before my arc ref-1 and it was astonishing for the money.
good luck

I am using a Camelot Technology Lancelot Pro phono stage which is a huge improvement on the phono stage on my Modulus 3a. It lists for $900 but is available for less on the net.