Phono Stage for passive preamp control

You should be able to get a used Aesthetix IO (the basic model) for around $2500. Tons of gain using tubes and sounds great. Designed to drive an amp directly with optional built in stepped attenuators but this will set you back a few thousand more. I use mine with a Placette passive pre and it works very nicely.

I previously had a Pass Aleph Ono that will be closer to $1200 or so and is a fine sounding unit, but not quite as good as the IO.

Maybe you're referring to the Rhea. (?) The IO's I have seen have been about $4K+ used.

I have decided to go with a Bent Audio 102 passive preamp which is seemingly less finicky with respect to impedance matching than perhaps some other units. I am now deciding whether a tube or SS phono stage will best meet my needs. Thanks for everyone's input thus far.

Hi 4yanx, the base model of the IO with a single power supply sold originally for about $5,000 new and can be had for about half of that. The more expensive IO units you have seen have 2 power supplies, and/or are Signature or MKII models, and/or have the volume controls. Going from the base unit to the fully loaded almost triples the price.

I have also seen used IO phono stages at around $2500. But I didn't mention them, because they have no volume control, and when you add the Bent Unit, you are around $3500. If you can stretch up to that level, then you couldn't do any better than an IO with a Bent Audio TX102 volume control.

I have used the following phono stages successfully with a Bent 102S driving a 100K ohm power amp input:
EAR 834P (modified)
Herron
The Groove
Walker Reference

They can all be had (except Walker) below $2K if you are patient. IO is nice too (I used with a resistive passive)
but gets hot and takes a lot of real-estate. Input tubes tend to need changing a lot too. YMMV.