As you realize, the shop’s recommendation of the medium output (1 mv) version of the 20x2 will significantly constrain your choice of a phono stage. I would urge patience, to the extent of resisting the urge to go with what the dealer happens to have on hand, and perhaps letting them order the low output or high output version of that cartridge. (And between those two my instinct would be to go with the low output version).
Also, the fairly standard gain choices of 40 and 60 db provided by the SimAudio LP5.3 would, on at least some recordings, probably make it unsuitable for use with a 1 mv cartridge in conjunction with the 360 mv sensitivity of your amp. And I likewise suspect that the ~58 db gains of the ARC PH 6, 7, and 8 would be too high for use with that cartridge, again considering the sensitivity of your amp. Also, given your stated desire for future-proofing I would be hesitant to go with any of the ARC phono stages, due to the single fixed gain they provide.
So where does that leave you? As you apparently have already seen in researching past threads, if you want a phono stage providing the flexibility to support both low output and high output cartridges (but perhaps not a 1 mv cartridge), and you want sonics that are arguably unexcelled in its price class, and that would be a perfect match for your integrated amp in terms of impedance compatibility and with respect to being limited to single-ended interconnections, and you want to buy from a designer/manufacturer who is a treasure to deal with, and you are willing to wait perhaps 2 weeks for delivery, I would suggest that you consider the lower gain version of the Herron VTPH-2 ($3650). And for that matter it may be worthwhile giving Keith Herron a call and seeing what he has to say about the suitability of using that phono stage with a 1 mv cartridge. You can be assured of getting an unbiased and very knowledgeable answer.
Good luck. Regards,
-- Al
Also, the fairly standard gain choices of 40 and 60 db provided by the SimAudio LP5.3 would, on at least some recordings, probably make it unsuitable for use with a 1 mv cartridge in conjunction with the 360 mv sensitivity of your amp. And I likewise suspect that the ~58 db gains of the ARC PH 6, 7, and 8 would be too high for use with that cartridge, again considering the sensitivity of your amp. Also, given your stated desire for future-proofing I would be hesitant to go with any of the ARC phono stages, due to the single fixed gain they provide.
So where does that leave you? As you apparently have already seen in researching past threads, if you want a phono stage providing the flexibility to support both low output and high output cartridges (but perhaps not a 1 mv cartridge), and you want sonics that are arguably unexcelled in its price class, and that would be a perfect match for your integrated amp in terms of impedance compatibility and with respect to being limited to single-ended interconnections, and you want to buy from a designer/manufacturer who is a treasure to deal with, and you are willing to wait perhaps 2 weeks for delivery, I would suggest that you consider the lower gain version of the Herron VTPH-2 ($3650). And for that matter it may be worthwhile giving Keith Herron a call and seeing what he has to say about the suitability of using that phono stage with a 1 mv cartridge. You can be assured of getting an unbiased and very knowledgeable answer.
Good luck. Regards,
-- Al