Best Phono amp under $2000.

At that price level, I compared these:
- Allnic
- Herron
- Sutherland
- Manley Chinook

Of the four, I found the Sutherland to be least desirable.  There were a dozen of us in the listening session, and while the voting was close, the Manley was the winner.  Everyone ranked them most to least favorite.  

My personal impression was that they are all nice.  The Herron and Sutherland were a bit more forward in the mid ranges, while the Manley exhibited the smoothest overall sound.  I found it the most pleasant to listen to for the longer term of the four.  

I don't have flowery language to use, but I can tell you that I've been living with the Manley for three years, and I have no desire to change... even after the shootout.  And, you can get one under $2k lightly used.

Someone posted a rave review here for the SPL Phonos.

How about a TRON Convergence? would be in your budget, if you are in the UK. Not sure how much it is in the USA. You could ask Jeff Catalano at High-water Sound in NYC, as he is the USA TRON distributor. The TRON Convergence has been used recently at RMAF and other shows by Jeff, with many plaudits.

The Rogue Triton 2 is very nice phono. More adjustments than the Triton 1 I also had.
This replaced a Heed Quasar ll.
I have had like 15 different phonos here over the years. All the usual suspects.
This is very good at $1295 . Running into a Rogue Cronus Mag 2.

If you are patient you might find a used Herron VTPH-2 for just a little more than 2k.  They don’t come up very often.  People tend to keep them.  Excellent phono stage.