Help with Pre-Amps

TVC passive - great value
Blueberry preamp a bit on the warm side. Phono build in.
Modwright - nice , more on the neutral side.
AR are nice but I can not think of any model from the lower end that I acctuly like. Their recent top dogs are quite impresive though.
Supratek , if you can find it used. But it might not be the best choice if you are not into tube rolling. Its build in phono is of very high quality.

The rest of your system, budget and your preferences should dictate the choice of the preamp that suits you best.

Mariusz

Phaseshifter.

A preamp that has a phono stage is considered a full funtion preamp. A preamp without a phono section is called a linestage. A passive preamp has no gain of its own and must be matched with a source ie phonostage or cd player with a high gain.

I have no personal experience with a passive preamp but have read they need to be matched carefully with the right source and amps. So they may not be a good first preamp unless you get good advise on what components will work well with them.

Hope this helps.

Would help to know price range to give advise on preamps to listen to.

Sean

Some pre-amps have great phono stages built in (AR-6 and more). However, most pre's that I've played with have second rate phono stages.
I'd say keep your phono stage. Try different pre-amps. I'd go with one with fewer "gadgets" will probably sound best. You need to first determine what you are looking for: Warmth, detail, tubes, solid state only, remote control...

Also, what cartridge are you using? Nice table and I'd hate to see a $99 cartridge on it. My Sota makes it very easy to tell the difference in cartridges. Also, make sure you set up the weight and tracking properly. That makes the biggest difference of all.

Sarcher30 summed up things for you nicely and I would agree with the comment about carefully pursuing a passive preamp. They are great when done right, but limiting for future changes and require careful matching. Probably not the best idea for a neophyte (as you state you are).

There are many excellent preamps in a wide range of price points. Probably the first things to do would be to:
Set budget levels
What is the amp?
What are the speakers?
Is there a specific type of sound/performance/characteristics that are most important to you?
Will you have sources other than the turntable? What?

Many of us could list off a bunch of preamps in various price ranges that can be recommended, both new and used. Obviously, you can get excellent values in used equipment - especially right now (it is amazing how low prices are going).

So instead of spuing out a bunch of loose recommendations, post as many answers as you can and then we will throw our hats/hearts and recommendations out for you.