Gain for Moving Coil Cartridges

60-65db at a .4mv cartridge

Sheesh, as soon as i read your question, 60 dB's of gain came to mind. I guess that great mind's think alike : ) Sean
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For a moving coil cartridge with 0.4 mV of output, you probably need a phono preamp with about 60 db of gain (as already suggested). However, that depends a bit on whether you have a solid state or tube preamp. Generally speaking, a solid state unit with a bit less gain (say 50-55 db) may still work OK because it is usually quieter than a comparable tube preamp.

With a 0.4 mV output cartridge, you'd need about three times the value you suggested. I have owned several cartridges with this gain value, and I've always found 60 dB a good match.

There is no simple rule-of-thumb. It really depends on your listening habits, but even more it depends on the gain structure of the linestage preamplifier into which you feed your phono preamplifier output.