Stand out phono stages


This topic has been started before by others and myself as well, maybe too many times, but it is worth revisiting since the source is so very important!
So far I have had the pleasure to enjoy two worthy phono stages: the EAR 834p and the JLTI.
I have to admit they are spectacular. Obviously the record and all the equipment downstream play a role in the sound heard. In some cases I prefer the JLTI and in other cases the EAR. But neither out do the other dramatically.
What phono preamps outshine others by a big margin, those that can be considered the last phono preamp ever needed.
pedrillo
I do not know a lot about the technical side of phono stages, and I have not owned a lot of phono stages, but I can tell you that my Leben phono stage does an excellent job with MM cartridges. I can not say it is the best in the world but of the phono stages that I have owned, it is the best. It is a CR-Type of phono stage utilizing 12AT7 tubes, with a gain of 20.2db, and RIAA curve with-in +-.3%.
Having some difficulty gettint an opinion on under 1K phononstages. That would be the maximum budget for me. How about the project phono II SE tube model for about 700.00.
Has anybody heard the FM Acoustics 223 phono stage ?
It claims to remove the scratches and surface noise on LP's.
FM Acoustics claim that the tics and scratches are removed in the analog domain and not digitally so I wonder if there is a delay in the music.
Below is a link, sorry cannot figure out how to make a direct link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-AW6lZLcuA

What are your thoughts ?
Dknde, it's highly unlikely that you will find an answer to your query about a budget phono stage in a forum topic titled "Stand out phono stages". You will probably be better served searching the archives for budget recommendations or starting your own thread.