Phono Preamp Suggestions?

You can't go wrong with an EAR 834P, buy a used one on Audiogon and if you don't like it (but I know you will, I have two of them) you can easily sell it to another member.

A great value and sonically one of the best in its class.

Steve

I have owned your table,arm and cartridge.At the time my phono stage was a Linn Linto.This combo worked well.I also like the 47 Labs Phonocube.But this is much more then you wish to spend.If you do find a Cube on the used market note
that when new they are set for the intended cartridge they will be used with and cannot be changed by the user.At least I couldn't.

That's a pretty nice setup you have all the way around. A different/better preamp might yield you bigger improvement overall than just your phono. At least, it might do a better job of revealing improvements in phono and/or cartridge in the future.

I've used a 90x for over three years. It's a very good cartridge. In the price range you name I would say the EAR 834, Ayre P5xe(I think that's the name), or possibly PS Audio GCPH. I bought the GCPH when I bought my whole analogue front end at once as a way to keep the cost down and it works so well I still can't decide when, or if, to upgrade from there. As long as you have a good power supply, accurate RIAA curve, and flexibility with gain, loading and other adjustments along with quiet performance, I'm not sure spending more money really gets you much of anything. Even though it's not sexy, the GCPH covers all of this at a price that leaves enough to budget some really nice vinyl.

I agree w/ Darkmoebius. Upgrading your preamp will improve the sound of your whole system and put you in a better position to choose the right phono pre. Heck, after upgrading the preamp you might not even feel the need to upgrade the phono pre. If you've got a mixed HT/2ch system there are excellent stereo preamps with HT bypass that will integrate seamlessly into your system.

I used to use a Rotel pre/pro as my preamp and continued to use it for HT duties, but a good stereo pre really brought my system to an entirely different level. Benefits were across the board and included a much more natural, full, and dynamic sound, better tonality/timber, dramatic increase in overall size, width, and depth of soundstage, quieter background, much improved high frequencies and increased refinement across the board. Overall the sound just became much more real and involving. This is why I said after improving your preamp you may not feel the need to upgrade your phono stage right away.

In any event, hope this helped and best of luck.