Asa: yea, the Syrah phono stage does sound great. I can't say how it compares to others though, as this is my first venture into the vinyl realm. Still, I've been so happy with the Syrah as a linestage (compared to my previous SF Line 3 and Bryston BP20), and the phono stage would seem to reflect comparable quality. I'd love to upgrade to the Cortese, but am also tempted to see what new design Mick may come out with and try that.
Rockinroni: I'm not sure what the retip cost would be. My cartridge ended up with the cantilever getting a little lose, so I sent it back for repair/touch up. I think there was something at fault with it all along, as it's only when I got it back that my rig first began to sing.