@knollbrent Before jumping into the higher cost of the Herron (wonderful unit), consider your needs. Your opening post said you were only MM carts at this time. Most of us started out this way, including me. I had a MM only phono stage as part of a couple of preamps, one was a McIntosh. Both of the built in phono stages were ok but not as good as stand-alone units.
When I decided to get into MC carts I bought a Bobs Devices SUT which I still use today. This allows you to get the best MM only phono stage.
I researched and asked Don Sachs to built me his custom MM phono stage. I opted for upgraded parts and a nice cherry wood case. The unit is amazing and Don helped me fine tune the loading settings to match what the SUT was doing for the couple of MC carts I use.
Don is better known for his amazing preamp line stage and amplifier, but his phono stage is great and totally silent. Pricing is between $995 and about $1,200 (like mine). Sadly, the SUT put me back as much as the phono stage, but the two together are very good. You could start with just the phono stage as long as stay with MM carts.
As to the idea of having too many tubes, all my electronics are tube driven. Everything is clean and clear. It just depends on what you pick, including tube choices.
http://www.dsachsconsulting.com/custom%20tube%20phono%20stage.html