I would also recommend the Sonic Froniters Phono 1. I ended up buying one over the Audio Research PH3. Not that the Audio Research isn't a great unit (it is and should also be a consideration), but I personally liked the Sonic Frontiers unit better.
In addition to what was posted above, I'd like to add that the gain can be changed with a bit of soldering and a few resistors. You can have either 44dB, 54dB, or 62dB of gain.
However, the loading is adjustable via dip switches.
They can be had for as low as $800-900 if you shop around. It's well worth it. Plus if you want you can add 3 year warranty even if you by it used by sending your unit back to Sonic Frontiers which will inspect and check it to make sure it meets current production standards for around $120 (that does not include parts & labour just the warranty.)
They also have an excellent technical support staff who go way overboard to help you out. (They sent me a resistor set to change my gain on my unit for free when I changed my cartridge.) I can't say enough about customer support like that - truly top notch.
In addition to what was posted above, I'd like to add that the gain can be changed with a bit of soldering and a few resistors. You can have either 44dB, 54dB, or 62dB of gain.
However, the loading is adjustable via dip switches.
They can be had for as low as $800-900 if you shop around. It's well worth it. Plus if you want you can add 3 year warranty even if you by it used by sending your unit back to Sonic Frontiers which will inspect and check it to make sure it meets current production standards for around $120 (that does not include parts & labour just the warranty.)
They also have an excellent technical support staff who go way overboard to help you out. (They sent me a resistor set to change my gain on my unit for free when I changed my cartridge.) I can't say enough about customer support like that - truly top notch.