After 8 years with an Allnic H-3000 mk2, I still have no real urge to upgrade. Prior to the Allnic, in reverse chronological order, were a Steelhead RC, K&K Maxxed Out, and a Trichord Delphini. Each was successively better but the Allnic is a solid cut above. It can be found on the used market at around $5-6K these days, which is a good deal for 2xMC, 2xMM of this quality
My Vac Phi Beta pre-amp, 11 years old and going strong, has a MC/MC phono section that is excellent, perhaps second only to the Allnic in my systems. I also have a Modwright Ph9.0, which waits in reserve and gets too little play. It’s quite good, as others have said, and a relative bargain at its price.
Despite my satisfaction with the Allnic and VAC, I am awfully tempted to borrow an Accuphase C-47 from my dealer, just to see how a highly-evolved SS phono stage stacks up. If I end up unable to live without it, I’d get an XLR version of a phono cable I have now, to see what the balanced fuss is about.