I agree completely with what Salectric posted. My own preference is for tube-based phonostages. I have also heard plenty of dead quiet tube phonostages (e.g., my Viva Fono) and some surprisingly noisy solid state ones (e.g., Boulder), so I would not generalize about noise issues. Most of the tube units I like happen to require the use of a SUT or have one built in at the front end of the unit, but, I cannot say that this is a requirement for good sound (Some that avoid use of a SUT have some noise issues because of the need for additional gain stages or use a transistor gain stage at the front end).
The only solid state phonostage that really interested me is the Lyra Connoisseur. I heard it at a show and the system it was in sounded great--very dynamic, harmonically rich and vivid. At lower price points, I've heard plenty of nice solid state stages even though they are not my absolute favorites. Some examples include the top of the line Naim phonostage and the much more modest Linn Linto.
The only solid state phonostage that really interested me is the Lyra Connoisseur. I heard it at a show and the system it was in sounded great--very dynamic, harmonically rich and vivid. At lower price points, I've heard plenty of nice solid state stages even though they are not my absolute favorites. Some examples include the top of the line Naim phonostage and the much more modest Linn Linto.