Best phono stage balanced under $3000 used

K&K Audio sells a phono preamp kit for about $1500 which offers balanced as well as single ended topology. I own one. In my opinion, it is much better than the EAR 834p.
Perhaps you should consider the K&K kit; then take the money that remains in your budget and upgrade your cartridge. I suspect the improvement from those two purchases would exceed the improvement from any phono preamp you could buy for $3K.

There is also the Trumpet.

I agree with Cedar. The K&K is a couple of levels above the 834P.

Oz

Cedar is spot-on, as is Oz with his second.

Cedar, FWIW the "topology" of the K&K is decidedly single-ended. The output, which is transformer coupled, allows either a single-ended output or a balanced out. Check the schematic. BTW, I bought the first "complete kit" from Kevin and have loved it ever since.