Musical Fidelity A3cr preamp vs. A308CR preamp

Why only MF for a phono centric system just curious?

Sloane I agree with you about the mentality that if something is popular with regular listeners like B and W it isn't true audiophile. Obviously this is nonesense.
I owned an MF 308 integrated as my first "high end" amp. I would hardly discuss it as particularily warm sounding. It was very analytical and detailed in my systems. It did throw a big stage like tubes but any other similarity with tubes ends there IMO.
My ideal system is all tube and really believe strongly in tube output not just preamp. I know the popular conception is that a tube pre is all you need but I didn't know what I was missing with that kind of set up until I got a quality tube power amp.

If it sounds great to you, then by definition it is a great phono section. If you have money to use for experimention, I would recommend the Graham Slee phono amps. The model you choose depends on whether you use a MM or MC cartridge. As a general rule they are a great bang for your buck component.