Phono stages belong to which tier?

Tom Evans would probably be here as well like the Groove X or the SRX version.

I'm been running the Wavestream Kinetics phono stage and preamp for over a year and IMHO it is excellent. I ran a latest (at the time) Aesthetix Callisto and Io Signature each with two power supplies, NOS tubes, before changing to the Wavestream. I listen to mainly jazz, classical and a lot of female vocals. The Wavestream and the Aesthetix had more than enough gain for my moving coil. After a week home demo with the Wavestream in my system I like it better. I thought my Aesthetix gear was great but it had a slightly euphoric presentation and was a little plumier in the upper bass than the Wavestream combo. The Wavestream seemed slightly more netural and more like live music I hear on the weekends. There's no question that Jim White's Aesthetix products are wonderfull and you may like these better than Wavestream's combo. You can't go wrong with either. I think that both are in top 5 phono stages.

So would it be safe to say these are in the top tier?
Aesthetix io
Alaap MKII
Allnic h3000
Audio Research Ph7
ASR Exclusive
Atma-sphere mp-1
Essential 3160
Einstein Balanced
Lyra 4.2p se
Manley Steelhead
Wavestream Kinetics
Zanden 1200

Dear Pedrillo: I don't know what precise information you are looking for in your thread and these are my thoughts on your last post.

The units you name it ( in that list ) are good units but totally different between each other as is its each one quality performance level: you have stand alone Phono stages, Phonolinepreamps, tube units, SS units, hybrid units, high gain active units, Low gain+SUT units, fully balanced designs, unbalanced designs even a non discrete design like the ASR that uses IC's(chips/opamps ), etc, etc.

With all these " variety " where each one unit has its own advantages and disadvantages and with other units that are very good but not name it in the thread I wonder: which kind of precise conclusions could you obtain other that put names in a list?

Maybe I'm wrong but, please if you can try to explain your thread thoughts about, maybe I'm missing something.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Raul,
Thanks for asking.
I am about to make a purchase of a phono stage therefore I am creating a list of what others have considered as the best.
Thank you to all for sharing your experiences.