What's A Good Upgrade From A Manley Steelhead?

I have not heard the Steelhead in my own system or one that I am familiar with, so I have only a general impression.  I like what I heard from the systems I've heard, so it is certainly a good phonostage.  I like what I run, a Viva fono, but, I have no idea how it compares in sound to the Steelhead or other phono stages for that matter. 

I tend to like tube-based electronics, regardless of the potential for higher  noise, poorer measurements, etc.  There is a naturalness, a larger scale, and a sense of the music blooming into the space and filling the room that solid state doesn't quite achieve.  I also like the way tube electronics deliver a lively, engaging sound at lower volume levels.  I am also one that likes, even amongst tube gear, stuff that has more, and better, transformers.  I prefer tube phono stages with a step up transformer than ones that try to achieve sufficient gain with active stages. 

I can only offer some rough suggestions of brands you should at least audition for warmer sounding phono stages.  There is the Audio Note (uk) line that ranges from expensive to ridiculously expensive.  The thing is, their stuff does really sound good.  Their gear requires a step up transformer moving coil cartridges, and they make very good transformers for that purpose.  This is a company that makes most of their own parts (they wind their own transformers, make their own resistors, capacitor, inductors, even their own solder).  Very much in the warmer sounding camp.

The Italian company Lector makes some good sounding tube electronics.  I have heard their phono stage and I like it--a lively, engaging sound.  I also liked the high end Zanden tube phono stage I heard; I believe it comes with its own built-in step up transformer (like my Viva Fono).

Have you considered keeping the Steelhead and perhaps getting something else with a completely different sound just to mix things up once in a while?  That might be something easier to do than finding something that is "better" than an already fine component.  I am not so inclined myself, but I have heard gear that was intriguing such that I might want to use it occasionally, even if it is not what I want to use day-in and day-out over a very long period of time.  In the phono stage realm, that would be the solid state Lyra Connoisseur phono stage.  I heard it in a show system that was explosively dynamic when playing records (meaning the phono stage brought a lot to this quality of the system).  Unfortunately, the Lyra is no longer made and is extremely rate, and even 15 year models when they do show up are well north of $15k.   

Rooze,

I see that you are familiar with Deja Vu Audio in Vienna, Virginia.  They make custom horn systems that are pricey, but, they are worlds apart from Klipsch, Altec and the like.  Deja Vu utilizes pretty exotic vintage drivers and currently manufactured drivers from Japan and Italy, and these systems are very different in sound from more common horn-based systems.  If you are interested in horns, you should at least hear one of these custom systems.

By the way, I have a turntable like yours.  I also have a Debut with vacuum clamp.  I also have the Basis motor control unit.  My tonearm is the Basis Vector arm.  I have two cartridges, a Lyra Titan and a Transfiguration Orpheus L.  

A new belt is about the only thing that would be needed to keep the Basis in fine fiddle.  I own a Basis and I have heard the Phantom on a different Basis table.  Both the arm and the Basis table are designed to maximize damping of vibration, both from external sources and the vibration caused by the stylus tracking the groove.  The sound of this combination is clear, composed, and quiet (very good at even suppressing the sound of ticks and pops because the sound passes quickly instead of resonating).  I personally like this sound at it works well in my very dynamic sounding system (horn-based speakers).  

But, this sound is not for everyone and every system and I understand those who call this sound "dead."  It is entirely valid to prefer something that sounds more lively and "jumpy."  If you want to mix things up a bit, it would be nice to also have something like a good vintage idler drive table like the Garrard 301 or 401 or Thorens TD 124 or the three motor belt drive Audio Note table.  These, with the right arm are more lively sounding than the Basis/Graham Phantom combination--i.e., different, not necessarily better.  At this level, it is more a matter of different taste than something being better than another.  The same is true with the original issue of choice of phono stage; it is hard to say that something would be considerably better than the Steelhead.

This might be extreme overkill, particularly in terms of the blinged-out looks, but the Artisan Fidelity reconditioned Garrard 401 is something to aspire to:

https://www.artisanfidelity.com/new-products/garrard-401-statement#:~:text=Garrard%20401%20Statement%20by%20Artisan,its%2012%20year%20production%20run.