I concur with Mjm and Slawney. The 834P is in an entirely different league and a steal even at retail. I've owned many phono stages over the years, most recently a Sonic Frontiers SFP1 and a Joule Electra OPS1 which the EAR beats. Harry Pearson was quite impressed with it. Yes, it's a bit over your budget, but can be had used with a volume control for around $500-550. So if you don't need a preamp for anything else in your office system it is a very reasonable way to go and so much better than the other offerings here. Unfortunately, you may have to wait a bit to find a used one, but it will be worth the wait for a guy who actually has a turntable in his office! Good luck and enjoy.
Budget phono stage- advice appreciated
I would appreciate any opinions/advice you may have. I need to add an outboard phono stage to my home office system. The system as is stands right now: Audio Refinement Complete Integrated, Magnum Dynalab tuner, Oracle Alexandria/Sumiko/Grado Platinum, NAD Reference Series CD Player, Totem Rokk speakers. I considered adding the NAD PP-1 phono stage, but my local NAD dealer tells me it's barely adequate, he recommended the Creek OBH-8. I've read mixed reviews on the Creek. I don't want to spend a lot of money on the phono stage, it's really casual listening while I work. Ideas? Thanks, Jeff