Valve phono stage

Another vote for the Herron.  I bought a pre-loved VTPH-1a MC from Keith.  I loved it so much I sold all my gear and went to a  Herron VTSP-3a and the Herron M-1a monos.  I also had money left over which helped pay the tax man.  

Infection, Sorry for the misunderstanding, but "PS" is most commonly used as an abbreviation for Power Supply.  Since you've apparently relaxed your yen for balanced outputs, all the other phono stages mentioned are superb. In my second system, I use a Manley Steelhead, the big brother to the Chinook.  I like it very much.

I once looked long and hard at the K&K preamp (which is also full function but can be used as a phono stage, like the Atma-sphere units), because I wanted a balanced circuit and I like building stuff.  (You can buy it as a very flexible "kit".) It has a good reputation, but I've never heard one. But if you choose among Herron, Manley Chinook, and Aesthetix Rhea Signature (see below), you cannot go "wrong". 

I briefly owned an Aesthetix Janus, their version of a full function preamplifier that contains, essentially, the Rhea phono stage inside. From that experience, I strongly recommend that you look at the Signature version of the Rhea, not the less expensive non-Sig version.  The capacitors of the non-Sig Janus were of a quality level not commensurate with what that circuit can do.  (Dare I say they are crappy?) Upgrading the capacitors in the non-Sig Janus resulted in a huge improvement in sound, really improved it from unacceptable in my opinion, to very good.  The Signature versions of both the Janus and the Rhea come already done with much better capacitors, among other improvements to the non-Sig versions.

I appreciate your suggestion but I want a dedicated PS.

@infection 

FWIW, an outboard phono section has some problems to overcome. The main one is connectivity- if you have ever had to audition interconnect cables then you know what I'm talking about.
When the phono section is hard wired into the preamp this problem is avoided. In addition the input and output impedances are controlled- so the phono section can perform as the designer intended.

Not considered that... would you say I should?

Since the cartridge is a balanced source, the advantage of having a balanced input is once again that of the connection- balanced lines exist for the sole purpose of minimizing sonic artifacts that can otherwise occur in the cable. Again, if you've ever had to audition cables you know what I'm talking about.
This should be a boon to audiophiles- it means that an inexpensive cable can perform as well as the most expensive cost no object!
Since all low output moving coil cartridges have a very low impedance, the result can be that you don't have to have an expensive cable to make it work in your system and have the tone are cable be absolutely transparent- which is the most important place for transparency to happen- no matter how good your gear is, it can't make up downstream for losses upstream!

So there is a pretty potent argument for running a balanced input, otherwise you are leaving performance on the table.

@steveyork - what was your previous equipment?

@lewm - thanks for the info... I'd like to hear the Steelhead.

@atmasphere - so why do top phono stage designers use RCA inputs?