Phono Preamp Recommendations

I hate to resurrect a very old thread, but there as someone looking to get back into vinyl very soon there is a point here that surprises me:

" Interestingly enough have discovered by comparing using the same table that the phono stage built into my Optimus STAV-3400 is actually quite good. There is almost no discernible difference at normal listening volumes. Of course the built-in cannot do MC like the Cambridge can."

It surprises me that an Optimus can approach the quality of a Cambridge phono stage! Is there an intrinsic advantage to a built in phono stage? Or are the differences between phono stages modest? Or am I reading too much into this? I have a Lexicon Mc-12 and a Citation 7.0 for preamps, but I will need a phono preamp for either/both.... Otoh, I have an ADS integrated amp with a phono stage (I think MC and MM, don't recall
at the moment). So this might change how I set things up. Thanks!

I use the 640p with a Pangea P100 power supply and it sounds great. Worth the 100 bucks for the Pangea. The 640p has been replaced by a new model (641P) that might be better, but I haven't compared them (the new one is basically the same price as the old one). I assume the Pangea works with the 641p. I see no reason to buy another phono pre myself as this 640p sounds so good with my system and it is one of the few out there with the rumble filter I need, but if I replaced it I'd just get the new one.

Aewhistory: Remember that both the internal phono stage and the Cambridge are being run into the same line-level preamp. I have never heard this Radio Shack product, but I can't imagine it offers resolution high enough to allow the listener to hear differences among phono stages. Perhaps gross tonal differences would be apparent, but I would imagine that the Optimus line stage is the bottle-neck in this system.

I think anyone getting into vinyl would be well-served by looking at older preamps that included phono stages as a matter of course -- before line stages were common.

I know that my Adcom GFP-565's price here on Audiogon is way below what any comparable recent stand-alone phono stage would cost if bought new (or used). Awesome phono stage. And you get an entire preamp to go with it!

Using an Adcom 565 might solve the "input matching" level issue I have with phono preamps...although adding a lot of circuitry to the mix, you'd have some serious gain to mess with at the input of the main preamp...to make all the sources the same level anyway.