Looks like I made 2 mistakes...
1) Not seeing that Mfs was looking in the sub-$500 range
and
2) Giving the impression that I was trying to be the "forum police" - I wasn't. Just thinking that he would get more answers in that forum because phono preamps deal specifically with....phono.
Anyway, back to the original question:
I've listened to the Musical Surroundings Phonomena and it is great little performer for it's price on the used market. The Lehmann Black Cube SE and Mccormack Micro Phono Drive fall in the same price range.
The Grado PH-1 can be had for $500 new.
Also, the Benz Micro Lukaschek PP1-T9 can be found at the next step up in price, ~$650.