thoughts on adding phonostage

+1 for @soix comments. And if you are going to jump into LOMC land then consider a good step up with either tube or SS phono stages. With SUTs, you will want the widest bandwidth you can afford. 

My advice is try matching the phono cartridge with your loudspeakers. As you might know phono cartridges and speakers are the most flawed components in the audio chain. Explains why there is such a wide variation in sound characteristics.

A phono pre that might be flying under your radar is the Herron Audio VTPH-2A. If you check the Audiogon discussion forums, you'll find numerous glowing recommendations for it.

Problem is, they rarely hit the used market; so, being patient might be a big issue. 

thank you guys. i also love the fact that you can play around with the tubes try diffent tubes to create different sounds...ive basically figured out if i leave my amp on since we play music everyday the sound is incredible...i do know that i am going to up grade to a HO cart next. and i am eyeballing a luxman e-250 used. i like adding a solid state to my chain. but i'll end up changing my mind at least another 50 times

It looks like you’re getting a lot of solid advice. If you follow

@mulveling he is VERY knowledgeable of Rogue and is extremely experienced with everything you seek. If I remember correctly he has involvement with the Rogue owners page on Facebook. I apologize for throwing him into the mix but I have a huge respect for his knowledge and politeness. If I may toss in a couple random things. I personally don’t leave my tube gear on for extended periods of time. If I’m coming back later in the day or occasionally overnight. If I’m not mistaken your amp has power tube sockets to printed circuit boards and not a full pin to pin wiring. So there is a fair amount of heat transfer, maybe put a small fan on it. Another random thought is your input tubes. I’m assuming that it came with the regular JJ’s which most people change for a noticeable improvement. Then there is the Mullard Vs Tekefunken sound difference. Most people prefer one drastically Vs the other. Rogue recommends nos Mullard to people to smooth out the sound , but for me as I have some , they are like throwing a blanket over my system. But my suggestion is to first look at your 12AX7’s , as they will have the greatest impact on your sound. In the current Rogue Dark upgrade they no longer provide nos tubes. For the 12AX7’s they use new production Tung Sol 5751 Gold pin’s at about $50 Ea. My M-180’s came with them and after breaking them in I rolled in a $318 pair of nos curve tracer matched Tekefunken 12AX7’s from Brent Jesse. To my surprise I preferred the new production Tung Sols. FWIT the 12AX7 family includes the 12AY7’s , 12AT7’s and the 5751’s. They each have a different Mu ( gain ) factor. I suggest that you try them and see if you like the sound. Later try changing the 12AU7’s to anything. Rogue used to provide RCA nos in that slot. As far as your power tubes I have the Psvane KT-88’s and they are not bad. Bill stated it’s the most reliable tube so they use it. However your amp will sound different with Tung Sol KT-120’s and probably make slightly more wattage. Also the KT-120’s tend to make more bass. In having a tube conversation with Bill , he stated that in my M-180’s going from the KT-120 to the KT-150 would slightly change the tone but not generate more wattage as the Rogue SS power supply limited that due to its fixed operating voltage. I know most of this is irrelevant to your thread question but I’m hoping to be informative and not bossy. And my apologies to mulveling for throwing you in the mix without prior permission. Cheers , Mike B.