How much difference will a phono stage upgrade make?

Thanks, photon46. I haven't heard of that one--I'll look into it. I quite like the sound of tubes, so I'm trying to keep things aligned with that preference. Is the RCM Sensor Prelude a tube phono stage? (Easy enough to find out, I suppose.)

Thanks everyone for your useful comments. Ultimately I wasn’t looking for suggestions as to which phono stage to upgrade to, as I’ve done research ad nauseam and landed on the Manley Chinook Special Edition MK II. The Gold Note seems to have a lot of loyal fans, but I’m pretty firmly committed to the idea of tubes along my entire signal path. (Also, with the external power supply, the Gold Note ends up being substantially more expensive than the Manley.) That being said, the overwhelming enthusiasm expressed by everyone about the upgrades you all have made has me thinking that this would be a good move and money well-spent. Again, thanks for your comments. 

millercarbon:

The OP has his mind set on all tubes. Others have their mind set on features. Or whatever.

For those with their mind set on music, and especially for those musically minded listeners willing to listen and decide for themselves

I'm actually very much interested in the music above all else. (Aren't we all?) I'm not a gearhead and I have no means of doing comparisons between high-end components, as I live in a small city with no access to the equipment discussed here. I drove 1000 miles to audition my amplifier and speakers and I'm glad I did, but it's not always possible. Hence, I rely on these forums for information, with the understanding that others' opinions may not always mesh with my listening preferences. I'm not stubbornly set on tubes for arbitrary reasons, it's just that my amp is a tube amp and I really love it. (For how it translates the music!) By logical extension I figured a tube phono stage would share the attributes that I like in my amp. Again, I wasn't looking for specific recommendations, I was really just looking for a nudge from this community, some assurance that a big investment in a new phono stage wouldn't simply produce nominal results by comparison to my current, less expensive phono stage. I don't want to be underwhelmed after spending $2500. 

I'm sure the Herron phono stage is great. It's also $1000 more than my already stretched budget will allow. (And as others on this thread have already suggested, even the Manley may be more than I need for my current set-up.)

Anyway, thanks for your input. I hope that asking the question I asked didn't somehow imply that I care more about an allegiance to tubes than to the music. That's not at all the case. I'm trying to build a good system that I can eventually just forget about and enjoy my albums.

Thanks, @jbhiller. This is the sort of testimonial I was hoping to hear. I really would like to look into the Herron as well, with so much positive feedback about it, but it's over 1K more than the Manley, so I can't really consider it for that reason. The Manley will be expensive for me, as well. (I may be pulling the trigger soon.)

Now, to answer your question, we could probably agree (or not) that Herron could be better in some systems, and Chinook in others.  But, the Herron costs double.  So, for me, moving up from $800 Jolida to $2500 (retail) Chinook, I don't see a reason to go up to almost $4k for the minimal difference in sound quality.  For another $1500, I'd expect to be blown away, and I
wasn't.

@soundermn:
Thanks so much for that detailed input. My thoughts exactly in terms of the jump in price to the Herron. It gets to the heart of my original post—I want to be blown away if I’m spending this much money on a component. I’m feeling more confident now about making this purchase and what it will yield in terms of a step-up in sound quality. 

Thanks everyone for a lively discussion and lots of useful feedback. I pulled the trigger yesterday on the Manley Chinook Special Edition MK II, so I’ll be up and running with a new phono stage this weekend sometime if all goes as planned.