I think it's hard to go wrong with the Sonic Frontiers. I know that SF gear can sound dry (try changed 6550 to KT88 in the amps...) but Phono One seems to hit a sweet spot, detailed, neutral and musical. I did not compare to BAT, sorry, but I generally find BAT and SF to have similar family sounds. I did compare to EAR 834. EAR was warmer, lusher, loverlier, at the expense of some detail. I think I could live with either one happily, except that the EAR does not allow adjusting of load.
