I can only talk about tube pres from my recent experience. VAC Standard w phono stage would a good choice, well under your budget. Another possibility would be CAT, but you have to be a bit careful as the CATs are pretty high in gain and w a stepped volume control it can be hard to get the level correct. Or a Joule w built in or outboard phono.
Preamp 101
Hi, I am going to build my Hi-Fi system but has little knowledge about this. I already got the following pieces.
Parasound A21 amp
Thiel CS2.4 speaker
Rega RP3 TT w\Extra II cart
Now, I am looking for a pre-amp and have no knowledge about how this works. Take the Wyred 4 Sound STP/SE preamp as an example, I can't see any input for Phono, does it mean that I need another Phono preamp? Also, there is no built-in DAC for this preamp, do I need to get an external DAC in order to make the whole system work ? Thanks a lot.
Parasound A21 amp
Thiel CS2.4 speaker
Rega RP3 TT w\Extra II cart
Now, I am looking for a pre-amp and have no knowledge about how this works. Take the Wyred 4 Sound STP/SE preamp as an example, I can't see any input for Phono, does it mean that I need another Phono preamp? Also, there is no built-in DAC for this preamp, do I need to get an external DAC in order to make the whole system work ? Thanks a lot.