I would go for 4 & 1, because:
*I like the Io & the Steelhead riaa's, obviously. I liked these better than the ARC. Of course, all are exquisite sounding.
*I like to drive the amp directly, and don't feel the need for the extra db the line part will give (my amps have over 47kOhm input impedance -- so a sort of OK load).
*If I felt the need for extra amplification (a line), I would stick with either Aesthetix or Manley -- probably the latter (there's slightly less tube maintenance required and I'm getting older & poorer)
The Wavac phono could also be considered (with passive riaa equalisation & transformer coupled attenuators). It's astronomically priced, as you can imagine...
I dared listen to one recently (I mean, it was free to listen to... you never know at these prices:)). Well, superlatives don't serve anymore, and since I will never be able to buy such a product, I thought I'd just mention it for academic reasons...
*I like the Io & the Steelhead riaa's, obviously. I liked these better than the ARC. Of course, all are exquisite sounding.
*I like to drive the amp directly, and don't feel the need for the extra db the line part will give (my amps have over 47kOhm input impedance -- so a sort of OK load).
*If I felt the need for extra amplification (a line), I would stick with either Aesthetix or Manley -- probably the latter (there's slightly less tube maintenance required and I'm getting older & poorer)
The Wavac phono could also be considered (with passive riaa equalisation & transformer coupled attenuators). It's astronomically priced, as you can imagine...
I dared listen to one recently (I mean, it was free to listen to... you never know at these prices:)). Well, superlatives don't serve anymore, and since I will never be able to buy such a product, I thought I'd just mention it for academic reasons...