which is better ? MC phono stage or MM+step-up ?

It is not the jfet. The Doshi Alaap uses a jfet mc gain stage most beautifully. Like others have said, the designer's experience and ability has a lot to do with it. I believe Nick has shown that a jfet solution can work extremely well. I'm sure there are others who can make it work also.

The Alaap IS a tubed phono and pre, with a jfet MC stage.

Yes, I have been told that getting the jfet gain stage to really sound right is not easy, which is why there are many bad examples out there.

I'll leave it to others to sway toward one approach or the other. I am only offering that there is more than one way to get to the music which is why there is a number of great phono stages available and they don't all use the same gain stages. There has to be an equal number of really bad ones of all designs. So, IMO there is no simple answer to the original question. As always, you have to live with/listen to any device for yourself and decide.

:-)