Recommendation for phono stage

Transistor or tube phono stage ? That's the first question.

Sutherland phono stages are usually very good but they might have very high output impedance and will not be electrically compatible with some line stage preamplifiers. I had this kind of fun with Sutherland designed Acoustech phono.

There are many excellent phono stages for $5k, both new and used, it is hard to advise.

lewm, it's alright, you did sort of accuse me of being biased but I simply wanted to hear about people' different experiences.

Anyway, I was cautious about Sutherland phono stages and I didn't check their specs, that's for potential buyer to do, but I did have problems with Acoustech and eventually had to run it through Nakamichi cassette deck which has very high input impedance. Other than that it is an excellent phono stage, at least for MM cartridge. I got a very good sound with it out of my Nottingham.

Allnic is also worth considering if you want tube phono. It's a serious company.