I second @mulveling’s rec for a used VAC. The higher-end models have excellent phone stages using 6 x 12ax7 tubes. As for Lundahl transformers, many people find them a feature, not a bug, although they can certainly be bettered by some separate SUTs.
I’ve been running a Phi Beta preamp for 12 years with dual MC phono. Built for longevity as well as great sound, it goes all day like a lumberjack, usually for 12 hours each day, since I work at home. The phono, while not quite as refined as my Allnic H3000, is robust, natural, tonally rich and throws a massive soundstage. I could easily live with it as my only phono if I cut down to just two tonearms active (from 5). I also have a Modwright PH9.0 that I never use because the internal VAC is better IMO. The Phi Beta, TOL in 2011, has been superseded by models including the 2a Signature, Master, and Statement, which employ a very similar circuit but are no doubt even better. Great stuff.