As Clio09 said, the K&K Maxxed Out is terrific, especially at its price point. I owned one before I got the Manley. It's a little leaner but does everything well and is very flexible. Kevin Carter is a prince. The Zesto is also supposed to be excellent if a little richer sounding--probably closer to the VAC sound than the Manley. You have some great choices in the $2-3K range.
I should probably add that my VAC phono is different than stock because it has interior screw terminals that allow me to slide in resistors of any value (I use nude Vishays) to fine-tune loading. So cartridges that have odd loading requirements sound better into it than the Manley, which is versatile but limited in loading choices.
I should probably add that my VAC phono is different than stock because it has interior screw terminals that allow me to slide in resistors of any value (I use nude Vishays) to fine-tune loading. So cartridges that have odd loading requirements sound better into it than the Manley, which is versatile but limited in loading choices.