I concur with what Liamowen posted. I purchased a Pass Labs XP-15 from Mark at Reno HIFI. Great experience. You can have an XP-15 for less than $3k and have a few hundred left over for vinyl.
@rsf507 mentions a sterile sound. I’m using a Rogue Cronus Magnum for line and amp (tube) and it’s sounding pretty sweet.
Note of caution, you may find yourself tweaking gain and or loading for quite some time after purchase especially with an MC. I just put a Lyra Delos on my TT and saw recommendations for 100 ohm loading. After speaking directly with someone at Pass Labs, he ran a similar setup at loading anywhere from 250-330 and he said the dynamics come alive and he couldn’t be more right. He suggested 66 gain however I have 99 dB speakers so I prefer 56 gain.
Good luck on your search and please do revert back with any questions.
@rsf507 mentions a sterile sound. I’m using a Rogue Cronus Magnum for line and amp (tube) and it’s sounding pretty sweet.
Note of caution, you may find yourself tweaking gain and or loading for quite some time after purchase especially with an MC. I just put a Lyra Delos on my TT and saw recommendations for 100 ohm loading. After speaking directly with someone at Pass Labs, he ran a similar setup at loading anywhere from 250-330 and he said the dynamics come alive and he couldn’t be more right. He suggested 66 gain however I have 99 dB speakers so I prefer 56 gain.
Good luck on your search and please do revert back with any questions.