Some of these I bought as upgrades and some were downgrades for cash flow reasons, None of them were bad so take my comments as being relative to the whole body of phono stages and a negative comment not a fatal flaw for those critiqued. I can't remember the exact order but roughly in order:
CJ PV10A preamp with phono (not the last word in resolution but does nothing offensive, very pleasant to listen to, a great bargain, probably just should have stopped here and saved a ton of money but MM only)
Aesthetix IO (seductive but a tiny bit dark and a lot of tubes so expensive to maintain )
Pass AlePhono (a bit analytical but a good bargain, I could live with it)
Camelot Lancelot (similar to the CJ, a great bargain)
CJ Premier 15 (very nice but didn't have enough gain for my .35mV cartridge)
Tom Evans (a bit dry for my tastes but I see why people like them, might be the perfect match for some systems but not mine)
Phonomena with battery supply (OK bargain for $700 new but can't compete with the Camelot and CJ PV10 used at the same price, and smoked by the better units.
Pass Xono (was way over the top for me, like it was picking stuff off the grooves and throwing it in your face. I could see that it would work in systems that are on the dull or slow side but I prefered the older version. )
Lamm LP2 (initially very seductive but compared to what I have now darker and slower and a bit lifeless. It is quiet but the gain is so low I can't imagine how it could be noisy. Probably a good match for an overly bright systems with a high output cartridge. I see why people like it and I would probably still have it except for what I have now.
There were probably a few more, and my present stage which I see as a keeper:
custom built Experience Music stage built to my tastes and to fit my system.
This guy is brilliant.
CJ PV10A preamp with phono (not the last word in resolution but does nothing offensive, very pleasant to listen to, a great bargain, probably just should have stopped here and saved a ton of money but MM only)
Aesthetix IO (seductive but a tiny bit dark and a lot of tubes so expensive to maintain )
Pass AlePhono (a bit analytical but a good bargain, I could live with it)
Camelot Lancelot (similar to the CJ, a great bargain)
CJ Premier 15 (very nice but didn't have enough gain for my .35mV cartridge)
Tom Evans (a bit dry for my tastes but I see why people like them, might be the perfect match for some systems but not mine)
Phonomena with battery supply (OK bargain for $700 new but can't compete with the Camelot and CJ PV10 used at the same price, and smoked by the better units.
Pass Xono (was way over the top for me, like it was picking stuff off the grooves and throwing it in your face. I could see that it would work in systems that are on the dull or slow side but I prefered the older version. )
Lamm LP2 (initially very seductive but compared to what I have now darker and slower and a bit lifeless. It is quiet but the gain is so low I can't imagine how it could be noisy. Probably a good match for an overly bright systems with a high output cartridge. I see why people like it and I would probably still have it except for what I have now.
There were probably a few more, and my present stage which I see as a keeper:
custom built Experience Music stage built to my tastes and to fit my system.
This guy is brilliant.