Best phono preamp under $250


Will be hooking a Pro-ject Debut Carbon turntable up, but need a phono preamp so it's compatible with my AES AE-3 preamp.

Any suggestions new (preferably) or used for under $250?
hockey4496

Showing 2 responses by hockey4496

Thanks for the recommendation. You're right, "best" probably isn't the 'best' choice of words since it's just a matter of personal preference. I'm just looking to find the best bang for my buck, basically something that has a good enough rep to stand its ground and not be a weak link in my system to where I'll just have to upgrade 2 years down the road. If I need to save a little longer and up my price to $300-ish range that's fine too!

All suggestions are welcome!! Thanks in advance!

For reference, I'll be hooking it up to these items:

Pro-ject Debut Carbon (and Denon DP-31L) --->Phono preamp?--->AES AE-3 tube pre---> McIntosh 2125 amp---> Klipsch RP-5 towers (selling these in the near future to replace with PSB Imagine T2's or some used Revels)
Thanks all for the suggestions. Is the project phono box SE II worth the price difference over the standard phono box II?