I use the Ayre K-1xe, (and have for about five or six years now), and it has an excellent phono stage. I use it with my Dynavector XV-1S cartridge, and I have no noise issues, even though the cartridge only has 0.3 mv output.
The phono stage is near reference IMHO. (Not quite reference, but close.) FYI, I consider the ASR Basis Exclusive, that my friend uses, as my yard stick, along with the Einstein Turntables Choice, (balanced version), and the Manley Steelhead, that I have heard before as well.
Overall, I am very happy with the K-1xe, and except for the inevitable occasional bout of Audiophile Nervosa that wants an upgrade for no apparent reason, I have no desire to upgrade beyond it. (And especially not given the cost of what I would want to upgrade to!)
However, a couple of points about the K-1xe though:
1. It is no longer in production, although Ayre does support and maintain them, should they need repairs. This is resource that I have only used once, and that was not for a repair, but for an upgrade, (to the "e" (evolution) version).
(However, this is something that the Hovland preamps do not have available, as Hovland has gone out of business a couple of years ago. Which is too bad, as they too were reputed to have an excellent phono stage).
So, if you want a K-1xe, you'll have to buy a used one, (which probably will save you some money though). Used they run about $4-5K.
2. The Ayre is a very transparent and well thought out preamp, and sonically, it is a reference preamp. But it does lack some features that some people like, such as a balance control and a mono switch.
3. The phono stage is setup to be run balanced, rather than single ended, as a cartridge is basically a balanced source. (FYI, I run mine balanced.) One can use XLR -> RCA adapters, as I used to do, in order to use standard connections, however, it does sound a little bit better if run balanced.
(In fact, Ayre's products tend to sound best if run balanced throughout the entire system.)
If your budget is a bit more than mine was, two more excellent preamps, (based upon my research, and not my actual auditioning, unfortunately), are the Atma-sphere MP-1. mk 3.1, and the Halcro DM-10, both of which reputedly have reference phono stages built-in, (albeit for twice the price though!).
Good Luck in your search.
The phono stage is near reference IMHO. (Not quite reference, but close.) FYI, I consider the ASR Basis Exclusive, that my friend uses, as my yard stick, along with the Einstein Turntables Choice, (balanced version), and the Manley Steelhead, that I have heard before as well.
Overall, I am very happy with the K-1xe, and except for the inevitable occasional bout of Audiophile Nervosa that wants an upgrade for no apparent reason, I have no desire to upgrade beyond it. (And especially not given the cost of what I would want to upgrade to!)
However, a couple of points about the K-1xe though:
1. It is no longer in production, although Ayre does support and maintain them, should they need repairs. This is resource that I have only used once, and that was not for a repair, but for an upgrade, (to the "e" (evolution) version).
(However, this is something that the Hovland preamps do not have available, as Hovland has gone out of business a couple of years ago. Which is too bad, as they too were reputed to have an excellent phono stage).
So, if you want a K-1xe, you'll have to buy a used one, (which probably will save you some money though). Used they run about $4-5K.
2. The Ayre is a very transparent and well thought out preamp, and sonically, it is a reference preamp. But it does lack some features that some people like, such as a balance control and a mono switch.
3. The phono stage is setup to be run balanced, rather than single ended, as a cartridge is basically a balanced source. (FYI, I run mine balanced.) One can use XLR -> RCA adapters, as I used to do, in order to use standard connections, however, it does sound a little bit better if run balanced.
(In fact, Ayre's products tend to sound best if run balanced throughout the entire system.)
If your budget is a bit more than mine was, two more excellent preamps, (based upon my research, and not my actual auditioning, unfortunately), are the Atma-sphere MP-1. mk 3.1, and the Halcro DM-10, both of which reputedly have reference phono stages built-in, (albeit for twice the price though!).
Good Luck in your search.