How much difference will a phono stage upgrade make?

I've made several phono stage upgrades in the past. The last upgrade was the most difficult to get right. I tried several well reviewed phono stages listing above $2000 and was disappointed in the sound quality for the money spent compared to my previous ~$600 phono stage. Then I acquired an RCM Sensor Prelude and that one knocked it out of the park, exactly the sort of sound quality I wanted. It was a very serious upgrade in fidelity. Vinyl reproduction has more links in the component chain, so it's more likely to take experimentation to get what one seeks in my experience.

Thanks, photon46. I haven't heard of that one--I'll look into it. I quite like the sound of tubes, so I'm trying to keep things aligned with that preference. Is the RCM Sensor Prelude a tube phono stage? (Easy enough to find out, I suppose.)

I think the take home lesson is that if you select the "right" phono stage at the higher price point, you will be very pleased, and the expense will seem worthwhile.  If you make a "bad" choice, then even if you've spent big bucks, you won't necessarily be so happy.  I put the word in quotation marks, because "bad" is to a large degree subjective (although there are some expensive pieces of audio gear that are per se bad).  So, do as much homework as you can before taking the leap.  In my opinion, the Chinook would be a good choice, but that's only my opinion.  People also seem to love the Herron phono stages.  But both of those may be better than your ancillary equipment merits, at this point in time.  Think of a used Chinook or older model Herron, maybe.  And make sure anything you choose is well suited to your cartridge in terms of gain and loading.