phono pre amp giant killer?

Thanks for the advice on the Dynavector p75 and the Gram Slee Era Gold mk v. I'll be looking into those.

I don't know if there's still one up for sale here, but the phono stage in the Klyne SK-5A is a very nice one indeed and the whole preamp is a find at its going price of around USD$1200.

Parasound Z Phono

March 2009 was Abso!ute Sound's big analog issue, and they reviewed three phono stages priced at $350, 600, and $1095/1350.

The $350 one is the Clearaudio Nano, and the review was a rave for its musicality and versatility. It has variable gain and comes with various resistors to adjust loading and jumpers to configure for mm or mc. The review ends with the sentence, "At its price, the Nano is a well-crafted, entry-level miracle."

If you decide to move up from that, consider the $600 unit they reviewed, the Musical Surroundings Phonomena II. What really impressed me is that reviewer Neil Gader directly compared it to the Graham Slee Era Gold V ($1095) and Reflex ($1350). Although the phono stages sounded different, it was obvious that Gader considered the Phonomena at least the equal of the Slee, demonstrating better warmth, lushness, and soundstage. The Slee has long been considered the one to beat at around $1K, but the Phonomena may have bettered it at half the price.

If you are talking used, you can probably get a Lehman Black cube for that money, and if you desire, upgrade to the SE power supply at a later date.