Next step up from NAD- PP2

I have a friend who is handy with a soldering iron, build guitar pedals and plays around with tube guitar amps, even has some extra parts laying around. This sounds like it might be be the direction to go, just have to read up about it more to make sure. THanks for the responses.

In my experience, entry-level units like NAD, Parasound and Musical Fidelity sound painfully two dimensional and lifeless when compared to moderately-priced tube-based phono stages. In particular, I'm thinking about a $600 Wright WPP100C and a $650 EAR 834P, but these may be beyond your budget. All things considered, a good phono preamp can make a huge difference. Don't underestimate its importance.

A Jolida JD-9a would be a nice upgrade for $350 as Viridian suggests.

If you're handy with a soldering iron, and willing to build a kit, you can get top-notch performance on a shoe-string budget.

I was going to recommend the Bottlehead Seduction for $279, but it doesn't have enough gain for your cartridge.

The Juicy Music Tercel kit would be an excellent choice for $395.

Jim Hagerman's Cornet2 kit is a giant killer for about $400-500. The instructions are easy to follow and Jim is extremely helpful. There's an active DIY group at Audio Circle and Audio Asylum if you need advice.

I encourage you to check out this forum:
please help me choose a new budget phono pre

I'd say the phono stage is your weak link. Everything else looks super. What isn't the phono stage accomplishing?

My Lehmann Black Cube SE, bought here used, was a very big step up from my receiver's phono stage chip, but not a night and day difference - more a difference in subtle details.