Welcome to the wide world of phono preamps. As you might imagine, suggesting a phono pre is like suggesting a car. There are so many kinds and styles to choose from, one can get lost in the choices. Being the vinyl junkie that I am- I think a wildly competitive marketplace like this only suppports the fact that more people are getting into vinyl these days. Blame it on the CD format wars. Blame it on the fact vinyl sounds so good and selling off your old records isn't worth the hassle. Why not spin 'em!?
Since there are so many choices and flavors- defining your absolute needs and budget will get you to your picks in a hurry. For example, what type of cart do you have (MM or MC)? What level of db step up is necessary? What traits are you looking for (a quiet pre, a tube or solid state model, a battery powered unit, etc.)?
If you want to test your skills with a soldering iron- there are hundreds of free DIY schematics available on the web. Nelson Pass made several top notch solid state units- readily available to the DIY community. There are many more...
When it comes to budget, remember that most entry level units will be focusing on the midrange portions of the material. Extending to the absolute lows and highs is typically a trademark of the pricier units. Not always the case but more the norm.
If you find a complete preamp with a decent phono section- you can use
just the phono section of that pre and route it into your other (main) pre. The Dynaco PAS3 preamp is just one popular example of this. It has a very respectable phono section. A lot of people use a Dynaco PAS for its phono section only. I once used just the board of a PAS3 (upgraded parts) and powered it with a torroidal and solid state rectification and it sounded amazing! It took a $2K preamp (A blueberry extreme) to put it out.
For the really tight budget- look at the pro DJ type phono preamps. They are dirt cheap and will get you spinning in no time. Don't expect an involving musical performance, yet some sound decent enough to get you by.
The Bellari unit Grumpy suggested is a good choice for your entry into tube phono preamps. I know someone with it and he loves it. It is very popular.
Another friend of mine uses this little gem to good effect:
http://www.wickeddigital.com.au/Fire...r-p-16763.html
There are wonderful merits to using battery powered units. I remember seeing a battery powered unit in the $150 price point recently. Stereophile had a quick snippit on it. Pretty favorable as I recall. I will try to track it down for you and post a link if you are interested.
More to come.
Nate.