LCR phono stages we know about

Dear Ghetto,
Thanks for the information on the Steelhead.  I wonder what they do via the MC inputs that bypasses the LCR corrector.  I do know that the MC inputs feed autoformers, but I thought that was to alter input impedance only.  

There are a few LCR phono stages that meet your cost criterion.  Unfortunately, I cannot rattle off their names with confidence, but the "Cole" is certainly one of them, probably for less than a kilobuck.  Lounge Audio LCR is another, very interesting because it uses LCR in the context of op amp gain blocs.  It gets very favorable reviews.  

That's my Valab LCR-1 phono stage in the LCR riaa shootout your're linking to on Troels site. I found the design so interesting, that I decided to buy one to try it out. Both build quality and sound quality is very good.

I own a Thomas Mayer D3A based LCR phono stage and 10Y line stage. They replaced a Coincident phono stage. The Mayer pieces are more transparent, smoother and have a much more elegant tonal balance. As an added benefit, they are dead quiet even with 80dB gain. No, they are not cheap, but I have no intention of ever selling them for another setup.

I received my Vallab LCR-1 phono stage yesterday . This phono pre is very good . I will comment more after break in .