Stand out phono stages

Pedrillo, I assume you intended to refer to the Pass XOno, not the old Aleph Ono? In which case I'm a bit puzzled to find it in the budget list. I don't know what the XOno retails for in the US, in Germany you'd need to fork out EUR 5.5 or thereabouts. Whatever, if it's too expensive for the second then it certainly deserves to be in the first list.

Here are my other contenders (I'll quote the retail where known, you decide where to put it)

State-of-the-Art (imho):
MalValve Preamp Three Phono (EUR 6k); there is also a MalValve Preamp Four Phono that I haven't had the pleasure of hearing and don't know the price tag, but since it's more than likely to be even better than the Three...
http://www.malvalve.de/preamp1.html

Big Overachievers:
Quad Twenty Four P (EUR 1.5k): I had this in my rig for a while. With the little bit of experience in tube-rolling I gained meantime, I'm sure it could score even higher.
Tom Evans Microgroove Plus (EUR 1.5k): I chose the Quad at the time because of its far greater flexibility and the little bit of additional mellowness seemed to fit my cart better, but wow, this little guy knows how to sing and swing.
Clearaudio Basic Plus (EUR 0.5k): impeccable in its own right, together with the Accu Plus (battery unit for another EUR 0.5k) astonishingly good.

Also, as I see you mention Whest PS.20R, its successor the Whest PS.30R (EUR 2.2k) is supposed to be a spectacular improvement (hearsay, though, haven't heard it myself)

Hi again,
Here's another 2-box set that should be high up the list:
AudioNet PAM V2 + EPS (together EUR 4.8k)
www.audionet.de/main/komponenten/page.html?L=en

Fcrower nailed it. In defense of the original poster and many contributors, though, his line read "stand-out phono-stages" (not "best" and in plural)

Pedrillo, if we may also include integrated stages, then I have to add both Tidal Presencio and Tidal Preos whereby, to put the hierarchy right, to their designer phono actually comes first, they are not convenient add-ons and they do fulfill your original criterion:

... those that can be considered the last phono preamp ever needed.

That should have read Fcrowder, of course.

Abundant and honest apologies for misspelling the name, likely the worst error in writing to commit.

AMR PH-77 has not been mentioned yet, I believe.

Must be about a year now this breathtaking machine was introduced: endless flexibility combined with highest sonic virtues as I had the good fortune to witness a couple of times.

Lewm, another machine that does what you are looking for is the AMR PH-77: 23 equalisation curves, 8 gain levels between 30dB and 72dB, 64 load options (here is the specs sheet: AMR PH-77). And it sounds heavenly.

I have heard the AMR a number of times and it would seem to me Downunder's story is a perfect illustration of dealers (or indeed representatives at shows) not always taking the necessary care to show the gear at its best. In fairness to dealers, it is of course not really possible to build perfect systems around every single component they have in their product range. Especially the observation that the PH-77 was "more mechanical", is a smoking gun, though (no AMR gear sounds mechanical or at least it shouldn't).
The first time, I heard the PH-77 was in a system with a Montegiro Legno table (don't recall the cart), AM-77 amp, Marten Coltrane Momento and Jorma cable loom and it sounded, well, "merely" very good. The most recent session was a system with Dr. Feickert Woodpecker with Lyra cart, AMR-77, Kiso HB1 monitors and selected cabling built by ... Thomas Fast, and that is precisely where the difference lies! Thomas is one of those people that will go any length to ensure the gear he presents can go to the "beauty contest". Matter of fact, Downunder's description of the ARC's virtues will then fit perfectly to the AMR.
Moral of the story: our own system will be decisive in the end.

Btw: in a much more affordable price bracket (EUR 2k), I hope to hear the B.M.C. Phono MCCI soon, supposed to be a dramatic overachiever. Anyone heard it yet?