Well I'll put my experience out there. .I have a cary sli80 and upgraded my turntable to a vpi clasic 3 witch I really enjoy. .tried some expensive tube phono stages like rogers pa1a and don't think it's worth the asking price.I'm currently using a rega aria and getting the results I was looking for. .with that said the jc3 from parasound is really nice and there are some good prices on used ones as well..best of luck.
How much difference will a phono stage upgrade make?
For the past couple of years I’ve slowly been upgrading my audio equipment. I currently have a Primaluna Dialogue Premium HP integrated amplifier, an EAT C-Sharp TT with an Ortofon Quintet Black MC cartridge, and Tannoy Revolution XT 8F speakers. The weak link at this point, it would seem, is my phono stage, which is a Pro-Ject Tube Box DS. All things considered, my system sounds really good to my ears, but I can’t help but wonder what a phono stage upgrade would bring to the table. I’m looking at the Manley Chinook Special Edition MK II, which is a big step up in terms of cost, but I wonder how much better it will actually sound. Has anybody made a similar upgrade, and was there a marked uptick in sound quality?