I owned a Chinook (now a Steelhead) and it was a very good upgrade. I also had an Aesthetix Rhea which I liked except for the low level tube rush. The Chinook is dead quiet if that's important to you and I would say is about 85% of the Steelhead sonically. Haven’t heard the Herron, though I read it gets very good marks from every owner that has one. I don’t think you’d be disappointed with any of these.
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?