Looking for a new phono preamp

You can pick up a new Parasound JC 3+ for about $2499 if you look around.  Check the reviews; it seems to be worth it to bypass the Jr and the original JC3 if you're going to spend the extra money.  I haven't seen much about the PS Audio Stellar phono even though it's been out quite a while.  I had the Nuwave phono preamp and wasn't impressed with it.

Black Swan - $1,500  austinaudioworks.com

Too bad, could of sold you my phenomena 11+ with linear power supply...sold on ebay. It was a great sounding set up. However, I’d have to disagree about tubes becoming noisy too quickly, as we are not talking power tubes, but tiny preamp tubes. They will literally last thousands of hours. To be honest, the Tavish the classic with NOS vintage tubes sounds better than any solid state phono stage I’ve heard in my system. Tubes are the RCA 7025 12ax7, GE 12au7, and a Sylvania disc getter 5751. Using Jensen MC-2RR-L SUT and the Hana EL. Seemingly a very good combo to my ears. Warm, lush, 3d ish, wide Soundstage, tubey magical. Paired with a ss Sugden A21se pure class A and the Tannoys, simply wonderful. For the money your willing to spend, I’d give tubes a go one more time and try a Tavish adagio. Step up transformers (Jensen) built in, everything in one chassis. Tavish gets the tube phono stage right in my opinion.

+1 on the Parasound JC3+, I’ve been using one for almost a year and I really like it. The one negative is that it doesn’t really offer much gain control. Wasn’t really an issue until I got a high output MC cartridge. I’m still trying to decide if it’s going to work well with it. 

I have heard or owned most of these listed.  The Channel D is similar to the BMC phono I owned and the others are correct do not limit yourself on what cartridges your phono preamp can use.  In my opinion there is only 1 listed here to look at and that’s the Herron VTPH 2.  His preamp is super quiet and extremely musical.
Keith is a fantastic audio designer/builder and his customer service is second to none.  You should easily be able to find a used one for under $2500 and if you give Keith a ring he may have a trade or demo piece he can hook you up with.
Good luck with your search....

I would go for a rogue triton two or a parasound jc3 jr or if you can stretch to 3k the parasound jc3+ and you might find a jc3+ for around the 2.5k if you do not mind used or demo models.

https://libertyaudio.com/service/b2b-1-all-fet-phono-preamplifier/

https://libertyaudio.com/service/b2b-4-all-fet-phono-preamplifier/

I make these :-)

Google the B2B-1 for more info - there is countless great reviews of it.  

Good Listening

Peter

Vertere Acoustics Phono-1. Versatile and punches way above its weight.
Hardly anyone in North America has heard of Vertere Acoustics.
https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/vertere-acoustics-phono-1-mkii

+1 on the Herron. Ran mine with an ART 9 and it worked out nicely. All Keith’s designs are dead quiet and super reliable.

It is the best until you get to much more expensive phono stages like the CH or the Channel D L20. Also current mode units. Current mode phono stages are more dynamic and have a gain of about 80 dB. Yes, you have to use a cartridge with a low impedance which happen to be among the best moving coil cartridges out there like the Lyra's, the Air Tights, many Ortofons, My Sonic Labs, Koetsu and so forth. The performance exceeds anything you will get from a normal voltage mode phono stage. You get the dynamics of a good moving magnet cartridge and the sparkle of a moving coil and because a current mode phono stage electrically dampens the cartridge they track even better. Read the reviews and other people's comments. If you do not want the best sound you can get even if you have the money to do so....I find that odd but it is a free country. I do not have a Lino 2.0 but I have my eye on the L20 which stands a good chance of being the best phono stage made. It is certainly the quietest. 
I do not have to listen to all the phone stages mentioned above and I do not care what other people except trusted friends hear. It does not take a genius to now that a modern jet liner is a much better and safer plane than an old DC 4. Occasionally people smarter than I am come up with a better way of doing things. This is one of those instances. 

Go for the win and get a new Luxman E-250. No tubes but has that beautiful and detailed sound that will honor your vinyl collection. Luxman just has a way of delivering the goods with no downside. Because of its robust power supply, pops, ticks and basic vinyl noise is diminished significantly. Built like a, well, tank!
PS. It highlights a moving coil demagnetizer called the “articulator”.

Shannon Parks Puffin. Lifetime firmware upgrades.

Parasound JC 3 + easy to adjust, very versatile and under 3K in price, many positive reviews.Or you can cut that price in half and go with a JC 3 Jr.I currently have both of these in my systems and also a Parasound ZPhono XRM pre in my 3rd system.

I'd recommend the new Hagerman Trumpet. It has a utilitarian look, but the content is worth gold. Jim improved the sound on the old Trumpet (Stereophile Class A), this is the 3rd generation version, and decreased the price a LOT at the same time. It is a 10K$+ category tube phono with MC step up (solid state) for 1.1K$.
Don't let the meager price tag scare you away. It is a giant step up over the CJ.
Trumpet is a fantastic match for lomc Audio Technica cartridges.

+ lexx21

Dude if your experience with tubes have been "too noisy too quick" then you REALLY need to ask yourself why they were over biased in the first place. I have designed tube phono preamps that disappear audibly from the signal path. If you are looking for a consumer solid state phono pre....good luck with that. Stick with the conrad johnson that you have and use NOS 12au7 tubes. You will not get that from solid state.

I know you said new, but a used Pass Labs XP15 would be within your budget. I have one and it sounds great and is very quiet. If you do not have easy access to the back, the dip switches can be a bit of a pain. 
 

With a low output cartridge, solid state phono stages can get noisier than tubes, than hybrids.  It has to do with how the current crop of semiconductors are manufactured.  

Under any circumstances, I would recommend a Herron VTPH-2A.  It is dead quiet.  With a little luck, you could find one used that meet your budget.  I've had one for years without ANY noise from tubes or the SS front end.  

Can’t compare to other stuff in the thread but I got the Stellar last year and have been thrilled with it.

The PS Audio Stellar Phono has created lots of buzz lately. You might want to check it out.

audition__audio,

Most humans have a need to justify the money they spend by telling themselves and others that what they got in return was not only the best for them, but for everyone else too.

It,'s a modern version of The Emperor's New Clothes.

I love it when a member says that something is the best with no competition as if they have heard every product available. 

Gold Note is very nice, indeed. Flexible with gain and loading impedance settings. PSU is a nice bonus. I like this combo, but I think it’s a bit bass shy. 

@phycho agree with your thought process

mijostyn,

I would not want to buy a phono stage that severely limits the cartridges I could use with it in the way your suggestion would.  For me, the  Channel D Lino C 2.0 would be a total waste of my time and my money.

i run an art 9 (among other lomc’s), feel same way as you that i prefer ss phono stage for low noise, drive and linearity, and i put tubes downstream in the chain to get that goodness

for ss phono stages, i have been through 10-12 in my time, my favorites are the ayre p5xe, and the upper lehmann audio units... great great sound for (fairly) reasonable $

tried chord huei, musical surroundings, sutherlands, tom evans, rega, ps audio among others... kept the ayre and lehmann

Whatever you choose pay attention to impedance match between the phono stage and the preamp. Sutherland has high output impedance, I think, so it won't match well with many preamps.

While I was shopping for my latest speaker acquisition, I heard a Musical Surroundings Nova III phono pre. I was impressed with the overall sound of the system. It might be worth a look.

The best phono stage for that money is handily the Channel D Lino C 2.0.
It has no competition, none. Unfortunately, you would have to change cartridges. Your AT's impedance is 12 ohms which is too high for a current mode phono stage. It has to be less than 10 ohms, the lower the better. Read about it!  http://www.channld.com/seta/linoC2.html

The Gold Note looks interesting, I like the balanced outputs. Also the sutherland 20/20. I will also have a close look at the PS Audio.

I don’t see many mainstream reviews for the RCM. Also, it’s over my budget, and is essentially a used item with no original box.

Keep em coming :).

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis9b2jb-rcm-audio-sensor-ii-30-off-phono

Have a look at this !

No direct experience, but at that price range I've only heard great things about the Sutherland 20/20 and the PS Audio Stellar.

The Gold Note PH-10 with the matching PSU-10 power supply is lovely in that budget class.

Industry disclosure: I'm a dealer.