koetsu

I recommend a moving coil step up transformer (SUT) for use with any low-output (less than 1 millivolt) mc cartridge. This will give you the needed gain and sound much better than a typical high-gain phono stage. And a much lower noise floor so you will hear more subtle details present in the recording! 

A used Koetsu Black would be a good budget choice. Or a used Supex 500 (same designer as the Koetsu). Either one used with a good SUT will provide plenty of sonic realism from your favorite LP's!

Great advice friends, i really appreciate it all.
Am using Pass' xp-15, so no worries of gain/noise i think, although i made a gift to a friend of one of Bob's Devices suts and it really transformed his system. We were both stunned as we listened to it break in over a weekend of non-stop listening.

I have a few Platinums, and they all match amazingly well with both the Bob’s Devices 1131 and Sky 40 SUTs. The 1131 sounds much better at 40x than 20x, btw. The SUT provides plenty of gain when paired with a good MM of your choice (keep it below 46dB gain); this opens up tons of options. Also, keep that SUT-to-MM interconnect very short (0.5m).

I’ve run a Koetsu cartridge as my main source for several years, and though I get curious about other carts, the Koetsu haven’t lost a bit of their magic and charm. Still waiting to hear something else be "it", like the Koetsu was to me within its first few notes.

I like stone bodies better than the RSP -- better bass. Worth the extra coin for an Onyx. I haven’t heard the other parts of the line, but the Urushi models look very intriguing. Though they have higher output, my experience with a Shelter Harmony (0.5mV) indicates that these too would probably be excellent with a SUT.