I’ve been using a Musical Fidelity MX-VYNL phono stage for several years. I went through several stages before that, including the GCPH from PS Audio, but I have a hard time imagining how any stage at any price could "sound" (it has no apparent intrinsic "sound") or function better. It’s fully balanced with both balanced & unbalanced inputs AND outputs, easily adjustable and configurable for both MC & MM carts, and it’s built like an anvil. It can even be powered by a battery pack, although I could hear no difference. It may no longer be in production, but it retails for $1,000 new and in my (limited) experience it was/is a steal at the price. Worth looking for and a BIG step up from the Yamaha stage.
Phono pre amp
I recently purchased a new TT a VPI Prime with a VDH DD2 special MC cartridge, I'm very happy. I still want to use my previous TT which was a Denon DP51F with a Ortofon MM2 Bronze cartridge. My VPI is plugged into the phono stage on my Yamaha AS2100. The question is, will I get more out of the VPI if I buy a (better) separate phono stage for the VPI and use the Yamaha phono stage for the Denon? If so, what phono pre amp would be good for the VPI?