Phono Stage Pre Amp

Of course, it depends on how much you want to spend, and what kind of cartridge you are going to use.

Many people like things such as the Black Cube, Monolithic, or similar ones, that are around $350 used to $700 new.

Others want tube phono stages which are typically more expensive, and generally have less gain, so more care in selecting cartridges is needed. Or you might need a step up device.

For tube/hybrid, ARC's PH3 is a great phono pre with about 56db of gain.

the general rule of thumb for phono pre-s:

the more you spend on the phono-preamp/cartridge the less expencive will be upgrades and time spent for it.
black cube, monolithic, phonomena, dino, plinius-jarrah are approximately in the same level of performance and are pretty descent phonostages but nothing realy serious. if you skip this level you can enter serious level of performance and dig from the grooves so deep that no CD-player for zillion bucks can.

the next level is the following: ARC PH3/PH3SE, BAT VKP5, Pass Aleph Ono, Pass X Ono, AudioSynthesis...

...and the next one is >$5k reference level.

the middle i believe has the best value per performance factor and very difficult to upgrade.
vpi scout even among vpi line is not an entry level table imo. in the same price route you can also try out Michell gyro SE or nottinham spacedeck

I would recommed a used EAR 834P in the $600-700 range. These are far better than the aforementioned Black Cube, Phenomena, Plinius Jarrah or other similarly priced solid state phono preamps. The EAR is easily one of the best phono stages you can own and they only retail for $995. The Audio Research will give you more extended highs and a tighter bottom end than the EAR, but it is not any more musical than the EAR, and it may be out of your price range. Expect to pay around $900 for a PH3 and $1400 for a PH3SE. Because of their price and the universally excellent reviews, there are many more EAR phono stages available used than the Audio Research. If you are looking for the best bang for your buck you cannot go wrong with the 834P.