Phono stage question

@inna I’m using a Sumiko Moonstone cartridge. 

step up tranny

Do they charge by the hour...? 

When people tell you the phono stage in the Cary is quite good they are telling the truth. The part they leave out is, "for a phono stage on a card in a amp." You can do a whole lot better with an outboard phono stage, even without spending a grand. 

It all depends on what your goals are. You have a pretty decent budget level table and cartridge. Kind of stuff where you are at a level where with the right moves over time you can wind up with a really impressive system. There's a lot of different ways you can go. You're talking phono stages so let's talk phono stages. 

You can get a truly excellent one like the Decware ZP3 for $1300. Quite a bit more than your $1k range. Then again also quite a bit better than you are thinking. Stage like this will redefine your definition of "good". 

It will also work with your high output cartridge. Lifetime warranty. Good enough so that gradually over time as you replace your other older gear it will be a good long time, if ever, before you think about a phono stage again. 

This will quite frankly wind up being the best component in your system. Now and for some time to come. But then how many amps or speakers can you find for under $2k that you can say that about?  

My two bits anyway.

Millercarbon, I don't know; 2 bits is pretty steep when the usual, customary and ordinary recompense is 2 cents...  I'm just sayin....