Natural, musical, dynamic phono preamp 700 used

Thorman, thanks. Heard good things about the JLTI also but never seen one on the used market.

Prcinka, you might be right but it just seems like with the vast selection of used phono preamps out there something must be out there which would suite my sonic requirements and my budget. I could be wrong though of course, wouldn't be the first time..lol

Allnic 1200, never thought of that one. thanks for the suggestion.

People seem to go on and on about the Graham Slee's, anyone know if they are really "that" good?

Much of this of course is subjective and IMO and IMHO, FWIW and the like but with so many phono pre's out there to choose from the options are overwhelming. Maybe someone knows of a little gem of a phono pre out there that falls in range of my budget.

The stock GCPH is not so hot sounding. At least the one I heard, far from musical and tonally pleasing.

Not sure about the totally modded units though like from Underwood Hifi and the like.

No offense to the EAR 834P (which is a decent performer) but I am afraid there are newer phono stages out there which give this aging piece of equipment more than a run for its money. Have had the opportunity to spend time with the 834p also, so this is IMO. Its better than the Grado I have sure, but the best for my budget, not so sure about that. appreciate your thoughts though.

Unknown Taiwan made "hi fi" scares the heck out of me. I am afraid I would not even consider such a piece, regardless of price. The other gear we are talking about here IMO is way beyond that type of Ebay hifi.

The EAR834p made the list because a buddy of mine has had one for years and likes it. I've heard it plenty in his system (which is completely different than mine) but not here. I also know the designer of the EAR has been around a long time and is highly regarded.

Who was talking about Jolida?? Sorry, I am afraid cheap DIY looking Ebay hifi electronics made in Taiwan or China is just nothing I would take seriously. Of course I could be mistaken here, maybe others who have experience with this Taiwan brand can share their thoughts.

Advice is one thing and I appreciate the input of everyone here including yourself, but you're over the top with your Taiwan/Chinese built "hifi" loyalty remarks. Funny that someone who is so defensive about Ebay Taiwan hi end audio brands has a system made in USA, Japan and Europe, according to your system page that is. I'm sure not everything hifi wise produced in China and Taiwan and sold on Ebay is poor quality and poor performance, but its not worth risking for me that is. Peace and thanks but no thanks to your suggestion in phono preamp.

Haha, ok already Wino, we get it, you support the Ebay and Taiwan "hifi" underdogs - well they're all yours, bon appetit. Sorry your feelings are obviously hurt but you are going to have to accept that not everyone shares the same sentiment when it comes to rolling the dice on some obscure Taiwan Ebay audio equipment. Some of us, like myself, would much rather try equipment with a little more of an established and trusted reputation within our small hi end audio circles. But that's ok, because at the end of the day, its just hifi....so,take a big breath and relax everything is going to be ok, really. People buy a lot of things from a variety of places and I could care less what audio gear you or anyone else in this world buys - whether good or bad. You are the name caller here and the aggressor pressing this fantasy "elitist" issue from atop your tiny little digital soapbox, not me.

Consider this o mighty man of the vineyard, some of us have been hobbyists long enough to possible have good reason to steer clear of relatively unknown inexpensive Chinese/Taiwan made so called high end audio, that idea ever cross your fermented mind? Then there are those, no doubt having much less experience who simply would not understand why others may have adopted this train of thought. In the end, after you've sold all of your current USA, European and Japanese mfg. audio gear (which is clearly only suited for the elitist, which you are not!) and purchase all the new Ebay Taiwan/Chinese hifi you can get your little "Buy it now" hands on, maybe you would be so kind as to lead the rest of us unknowing little audiophile souls down the righteous path of true hi fidelity salvation! In closing, I say peace to you Vintner and thanks for engaging in this delightful, entertaining and informative commentary, its been fun.
(Disclaimer: No cheap Ebay Taiwan hifi audio equipment has been harmed in any capacity during the course of this deliberation.)

Really though, you might want to take it a little easy, after all its only hifi.

Bajaed, wanted to give you a heads up on the GCPH in stock form, I would say it is not the most musical or tonally accurate phono stage. Heard it with a Thorens TD124 and Jelco setup with Benz Glider and compared to the EAR (in a friends system not in my own.) and when switching back and forth between the two, the clear winner was the 834p. The Stock GCPH sounded cold sterile and bright.