3k Phono preamp upgrade options (JC3+, XP-17, etc)

@cleeds , and they cost a whale of a lot more than a JC3+. I have not been in any recent ARC or Mac stuff but the last time I looked they were still using through hole construction. Both are now a cut below the finest brands such as Boulder and Constellation (also US companies) but that is "Luxury" HiFi and IMHO over the top. To my own way of thinking if I were financially strapped the JC3+ is a unit I could buy. If money were no object there is not a thing any of the above mentioned companies make that interests me. 

@lewm , why do you always have to be so picky? John Curl was designing high end HiFi gear before anyone else had even thought of it. The early Mark Levinson gear was so far superior to anything else present in the day it was astonishing. So what if he has a clinker or two to his name. I had a Nelson Pass Preamp (Threshold) that was a better radio than most tuners.  

@rsf507   The amount of noise generated by a phono stage depends on the cartridge you are trying to mate it with. In my recollection I can not recall anyone saying the JC3+ was noisy. Transformers are quite but they come with their own set of problems.

@riskymilk , These are both good phono stages. The JC3+ wins on the basis of sheer value. One could also argue that John Curl REALLY knows what he is doing. The JC3+ is relatively inexpensive because it is manufactured in Taiwan. If it was made here in the US it would cost easily three times as much and would not be built as well. Small manufacturers can not afford aerospace manufacturing equipment.