That is quite the budget for your TT set-up. I am using a Schiit Mani in my set-up.
My TT is a Stanton ST 150 with a Denon 103 cartridge. Price is a steal at $130. Made in the USA. This Mani makes my vinyl sound very musical. There is a Stereophile review out there that is more descriptive than I will ever be.
I had been using an Adcom GTP 500 II that I had from 25 years ago and then a Parasound zPhono and was wondering if I was wasting my money re-embracing vinyl. Everything was sounding like ehh. Not that way with the Mani.
Conceptually, I would not pay more for a phono preamp than what I paid for my turntable ($600), it makes no sense to me.
http://schiit.com/products/mani
Rich
My TT is a Stanton ST 150 with a Denon 103 cartridge. Price is a steal at $130. Made in the USA. This Mani makes my vinyl sound very musical. There is a Stereophile review out there that is more descriptive than I will ever be.
I had been using an Adcom GTP 500 II that I had from 25 years ago and then a Parasound zPhono and was wondering if I was wasting my money re-embracing vinyl. Everything was sounding like ehh. Not that way with the Mani.
Conceptually, I would not pay more for a phono preamp than what I paid for my turntable ($600), it makes no sense to me.
http://schiit.com/products/mani
Rich