I just went through the same conundrum, very happy I went with a Ray Samuels Nighthawk. Not only is it dead quiet and mates nicely with my Grado Statement, but I'm quite confident it will mate well with pretty well any cartridge.
Phono stage upgrade with Grado Reference
My current analog setup includes a Clearaudio Performance turntable with a Grado Reference cartridge (1.5mV) in to a CJ EV-1 phonostage (49 dB gain, I believe); the preamp is a CJ Premier 17LS. The amp is a McCormack DNA 500 and the speakers are Thiel CS6. I have noticed that I have to turn the volume on my preamp fairly high, and I would like a bit more lower end weight on some recordings. I am considering a phono stage upgrade, and was wondering whether a Grado PH-1, or an EAR834p would lead to significant improvement in this regard. Any other suggestions as far as a phonostage in the $500-1500 range?