Is a SUT needed?

handymann it's not that a MC phono stage doesn't have enough gain to drive the output of the MC cartridge that's not what I'm talking about.It's that a MM phono section is usually easier to build and doesn't require an extra stage and then when you add the SUT to the MM phono stage the magic happens. You would never use a SUT into a MC phono stage b/c for sure you will overload the system.
If you live in the Boston area I'd be more than willing to come over with several SUT just so you can hear what I'm talking (listening) about. 

sksos1:  i'm just a few blocks from you down in Nashville Tn.

I'll drive over this weekend!😎

There is no substitute for trying one or more in your own system to hear the effect.  Bob of bobsdevices.com sent one of his SKY10 SUTs to me and Wow!  Huge improvement.  My phono stage is cj TEA2MAX, 55 db, using an Ortofon Winfeld with 0.2mV output.

Dear @handymann @sksos1 @jperry @bobsdevices : No one needs a SUT if we can find out a well designed SS active high gain phono stage with bipolar devices in the active stage.

No single SUT can competes or outperforms that active high gain phono stage. SUTs has not the wide frequency range that an active item has and that it's need it to honor cartridge response on MUSIC. SUTs has not the extremely fast response of bipolar devices that makes a huge differences on transient response, SUTs has not the rigth bass range management specially in this lower frequency band, SUTs are way suceptible to pick up several kind of " noises " and SUTs generates too distortions no matter is a passive item and I can go on and on about. @dover is rigth on his post in this regards.

Your " incredible " sound through your Rhea is a " false dream paradise " as is any single tube phono stage no matters what and nu matters its price tag.

Unfortunatelly the Rhea is one of the worst phono stages out there and not because some one told me but because I had first hand experiences not with the Rhea but with his " senior " dad the Io Signature four chasis all tube phono stage: a crap of phono stage and the designer was not the culprit but tubes.

I heard it twice in a megabuck home system surrounded between other things of a Walker TT and the like. Its level noise is terrible for say the least as is its RIAA eq. deviation and not only because a high dbs deviation but because the RIAA curve for the left and rigth channel are different when both must be the same!.
Its output impedance goes between 2k and 3Kohms where we have a huge lost of cartridge/music information.
If I remember I counted at least 5-6 stages where the signal pass  and including everything the signal pass through more than 40 links  inside the unit and this is the " senior dad " its Rhea relative is even worst.

So from where comes that " incredible " sound you are talking about. I know that that is what you like because you are accustom to but sorry to wake up of your " paradise dream " but the reality is that you have to put on sale and find out any other phono stage that does not needs a SUT.

I own and owned several SUTs and my modified Denon AU 1000 ( weigths 12. kg. ) outperforms today any price tag SUT and I have to say that performs really good through the MM stage but not at the same level than the MC active high gain stage I own.

Sooner or latter all of us will wake up of that " false paradise dream ". I know that no one wants to wake up of that " dream " but the reality is that is only that a dream a nothing  more.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.