Building my 'first' system - Advice on Phono preamp please

I would do the latter, unless I had a good reason to do otherwise (like a great opportunity from your dealer).

The advise to reach beyond the standard level of designs within a certain budget and acquire a Phonostage that has a well respected status is a good advice.
From experience it is important for the end user to have heard the choices prior to making a decision, and even better if a final Choice on the shortlist can be used on the home system.
Phonostages are able to create very different impressions on a Room Full of Attendees at auditions/demonstrations.
My experiences of being an attendee at such events has moulded my thoughts on how sensitive individuals are to a Presentation.
      
I agree about the EAR 834P being coloured in the presentation, I have heard it over the past 20+ Years as the original model from Ear and in a variety of Clones with Power Supply and Circuit Modifications.
To my Tolerances the Colouration seems similar on all models heard, but I will not say the same.
Others were quite impressed by the Oversized Presentation.

I also heard a Modwright Valve Hybrid Phon' at a Bake Off where a EAR was in the demonstrations, even though both designs are noticeably coloured and the Antithesis of a SS phon's presentation.
The Modwright got my vote as for being the most acceptable colouration and the colouration seemed almost as if was an attractor to me.
I was very curious as to how it might work within my system.

When the Phon's from this event went into the £10 000+ Purchase Price, these models were shown to be extremely wanting. 

A careful investigation and time spent trialling out different Phon' Designs and Brands will be very beneficial to help an individual discover their preference for a presentation, SS, Valve Hybrid or Valve Input>Output.
How Lean and Clean or Bloomed will also be a important factor to a end user, it is they who will be sitting in front of it.   
   

Follow up question: Unless I plan on spending over 1k on a cartridge, is there any point in a moving coil cartridge or should I buy the best MM phono stage and cartridge?
I do have 2 small kids so I wasn’t planning on spending more than $300 on cartridges until the kids get older:)

You need a cartridge with user replaceable stylus. 

It can be MM or MI

This might be a little steep, but considering what you have might be a pretty good fit- Decware ZP3 https://www.decware.com/newsite/ZP3.htm  Not a lot of gain but should be fine with your MM Blue at 5.5mV output. 

Couple nice things about the ZP3- it is triode, so rich and captivating presentation. Should be a nice combination with your integrated amp. Decware only sell direct. Retail margins are typically around 60% so companies like Tekton and Decware selling direct typically get you at least twice the quality for your money compared to retail distribution. Decware comes with a lifetime warranty to the original purchaser. 

The main downside is they are around 3 months out. oldhvymec just got one, or should be getting it very soon, his order time was around 2-3 months.   

Unlike most other companies Decware has a sort of modular philosophy or approach. Instead of building a phono stage with a lot of gain and MC/MM inputs they build what is basically a MM phono stage and then have their own optional step up transformers to allow you to select the right one should you upgrade to MC at some point. Check them out, they are very interesting design and come with the same lifetime warranty plus an exchange program making it easy and affordable to change should you go to MC with different output levels. 

This is another way you get more for your money, not paying for RCA connectors, wiring and circuits you won't use. Haven't heard one yet, don't expect it will be in the league of Herron but all things considered bet it is a lot of bang for the buck. Like I said oldhvymec should be getting one soon so won't have long to wait if you want feedback from him. He is the guy who turned me onto Decware in the first place, so will be good to hear what he thinks. 

thanks for the Decware recommendation...looks interesting and gorgeous design. I'm going to look into it further.