Hi, Dogsonka. I'll recommend one of the more obvious choices if you're interested in experimenting with cartridges and want to try some tube "rolling". I've been using a Jolida JD9 phono preamp ($450 USD) with a mmf-7 for many years and it's a good preamp if you want versatility. It'll handle almost any cartridge design and it can be upgraded either by DIY or sending it out for modifications. Plus, you can try different tubes to see how tubes affect the sound of your system. (Although in some cases the differences are subtle. Still, it does make a difference.)
My only real complaint with the JD9 is that is has almost too much gain. Jolida could back off on the amplification by about 20 dB and it would be even more versatile yet.
Tom
My only real complaint with the JD9 is that is has almost too much gain. Jolida could back off on the amplification by about 20 dB and it would be even more versatile yet.
Tom