There are a lot of good MM phono stages in the $1000 and under range. A few that I have tried and really liked:
-Croft RIAA ($995) - uses two 12ax7 tubes, MM only
-Lejonklou Gaio 2 ($895) - solid state, but on the smooth side of things, MM only
-Musical Fidelity MX-VYNL - solid state, lots of a adjustments, MM/MC, refined sound, very cheap wall wart power supply
-Schitt Mani ($129) - yes, a $129 solid state stage. It's much, much better than its price would suggest. I still go back to mine frequently and am surprised every time by how good it sounds. MM/MC.
-iFi iPhono2 ($549) - a very versatile and great sounding solid state MM/MC phono stage. The wall wart power supply was very noisy in my setup. An external power supply makes it much better.
Anyway, just a few thoughts based on my experiences.
Good luck and have fun!
Scott
-Croft RIAA ($995) - uses two 12ax7 tubes, MM only
-Lejonklou Gaio 2 ($895) - solid state, but on the smooth side of things, MM only
-Musical Fidelity MX-VYNL - solid state, lots of a adjustments, MM/MC, refined sound, very cheap wall wart power supply
-Schitt Mani ($129) - yes, a $129 solid state stage. It's much, much better than its price would suggest. I still go back to mine frequently and am surprised every time by how good it sounds. MM/MC.
-iFi iPhono2 ($549) - a very versatile and great sounding solid state MM/MC phono stage. The wall wart power supply was very noisy in my setup. An external power supply makes it much better.
Anyway, just a few thoughts based on my experiences.
Good luck and have fun!
Scott