Criteria for a phono stage?

Forget the technicals other than make sure it has the proper gain settings to fit your desired cartridge.

Obviously, focus on getting a phono pre that sounds good to you, and fits your budget.

Thank you for your response. I have the Music Hall mmf-7 with the Goldring Eroica H MC cartridge. Which of its specifications aligns with the gain settings of the pre-amp?

The Goldring is a pretty mainstream cartridge. I'd think most phono stages would fit fine. It is a "high output" Moving Coil cartridge so would use the Moving Magnet setting on a preamp.

Things usually only touchy when using a very low output MC.

The gain is most important if considering a moving coil cart.
If you are using a MM cart, almost any phon pre you like will suffice.
Remember that NO phono preamp will provide equal gain to another souce (digital!)
Phono pre output has traditionally (along with all other non-digital source components) had under 1 volt outputs.. where digital source components all have AT LEAST 2 volt output.
This trick is a sucker bet to play on the "louder is better" mindset of the common schmuck when digital first arrived on the scene... and has stayed on.
So when you try out that phono section, do NOT be disappointed that the volume has to be a bit higher to play the phono ... that is very normal.