Phono Preamps with "balls" ?

I own a Simaudio LP5.3, a Violectric PP1 (can't believe someone else mentioned it-I thought I was the only one on the planet to own one), and a Manley Steelhead. By and large, I think that you can pretty much tell which phono stages are going to have the qualities that you refer to as "balls" by looking at the power supply. If it is huge, such as found in upper tier BAT or any Lamm or the TW Acoustics referred to above and the Steelhead, chances are pretty good that you will get those qualities. The power supply is the magic ingredient not only with phono stages but preamps in general. Look at any top drawer preamp that has almost universal acclaim and it is virtually certain it will have either a huge separate power supply (e.g. the ARC Ref 10) or a large internal power supply (which is second best). 

I've yet to hear a CD that plays better bass than my phono section...

I like to run balanced, as all phono cartridges are balanced sources, and that can reduce or eliminate the 'sound' that the tone arm cable might otherwise impart.

I wish I could. Very few phono stages, even in the upper tier, offer balanced inputs. Manley does not believe that offering balanced inputs is worthwhile and have an explanation in the FAQ section of their website. 

04-04-2018 9:47pm... well not to hijack the thread, but now you've got me interested in the Violectrics @czarivey and @fsonicsmith. I checked out their website. The PPA 600 ticks off a lot of boxes for me. Anyone know how it compares to the PP1?  Google seems to know about that one only in German.

I made a mistake-the Violectric phono stage I have is the V600. It started out with my purchase of the Violectric V200 headphone amp from Robert at AphroditeCU29. Don't ask me where Robert got that business name but he is great to work with. We got to talking about Violectric and Robert suggested I audition the phono stage and DAC as well. I liked the phono stage well enough to keep it. He also sent me Violectric's DAC that was hot at the time (not good with model numbers) and I was not thrilled with it and sent it back. I have no connection obviously, but Robert's website is AphroditeCU29.com BTW, in Robert's defense, he told me that I would not hear the full capability of the DAC unless I auditioned it with the Wireworld Platinum Starlight USB cord. That ran $800. I told Robert not to bother sending me that cord, because if I liked it, I would hate myself for buying it. Then I bought my AMR DP777 and after getting that, I bought a Wireworld Platinum Starlight USB and now I know that Robert was right. Sorry for the thread drift on the thread drift.