Phono preamps

Hey, no fair, that's three, not two. Please add the Musical Fidelity X-LP to your list. It is a bit smoother sounding than the Rotel with a bit more bloom.

The new Parasound Zphono retails for $150 and is better than the original PPH-100 plus you can switch between MM and MC with the push of a button instead of opening it up and moving jumpers. It's the best cheap phono stage I've heard.

Iv'e owned older Parasound PPH-100 which I did not care for and a couple of $1,000 preamps. The new Bellini single tube amp that I heard seems to be very good for the asking ($200?) price. I have actually listned to the Bellini and it is very listenable, would probably lend itself well to some other tubes brands as well. Let us know what you do and how it works out, good luck, Mike.

For the price, it's hard to beat the Bellari VP-129. Sounds much more expensive than it is. There's one for sale for $200 brand new.