Reddit mentions of Little Bear T7 Vacumn Tube Mini Phono Stage RIAA MM Turntable Preamp & HiFi Tube Pre-Amplifier (Black)

ART DJ Pre II. Adjustable gain and a subsonic filter. Generally considered the best phono stage until you hit the $200+ mark.

https://www.amazon.com/ART-DJPREII-Audio-Turntable-Preamplifier/dp/B000AJR482

For $10 over your budget, I'd suggest this;

https://www.amazon.com/Nobsound-Little-Bear-Turntable-Pre-Amplifier/dp/B075YQM28P/ref=pd_sbs_23_4?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B075YQM28P&pd_rd_r=a55e9663-c5fc-11e8-a9f9-45c00ac54db7&pd_rd_w=il42v&pd_rd_wg=ZIGqR&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=0bb14103-7f67-4c21-9b0b-31f42dc047e7&pf_rd_r=ZR0971SVJMV8BPR9P1B1&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=ZR0971SVJMV8BPR9P1B1

Tubes do something really wonderful with vinyl. And even though this is pretty much a solid state preamp, it does use the tubes as a buffer which get you most of the sound.

With links!

Turn table - https://uturnaudio.com/products/orbit-custom

Monitors - https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Rokit6G3--krk-rokit-6-g3-6-inch-powered-studio-monitor

Preamp - https://www.amazon.com/Nobsound-Little-Bear-Turntable-Pre-Amplifier/dp/B075YQM28P/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=little+bear+tube+amp&qid=1557685982&s=gateway&sr=8-5

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I bought my Turntable without a preamp specifically so I could choose my own. When/If you build a custom u-turn table you can have one installed into it to save on headaches and space. Hope this all helps! My set up may be small but that's due to budget, not because I don't know much so if you have questions feel free to reach out!!!

I'm looking for advice. I have an Audio Techia LP120 with the stock stylus that was installed at the record shop I purchased it at, and I'm looking to upgrade. My intention is to keep the existing one set aside ready to swap out with the upgraded one when I play older and used records to keep the new one in as good of shape as possible. Is this doable? It seems that the tonearm is made for such an arrangement given as the head shell has a quick disconnect.

Next question is the actual stylus. At first, I was looking at an Ortofon Blue, but I've also seen people really like the AT-VM540ML. Thoughts?

Final question; Protractors...I am so confused and I can't find very much information on selecting a good protractor. I've tried printing them online but I can never be sure that my scaling is correct, so I would rather just buy a product on the market. It seems that most protractors I can find on Amazon are Baerwald, even some disk shaped protractors. Not really sure what the best tool is for my TT. Also, I have 99.9% 12" records, so to my limited understanding of cartridge alignment, I should be aligning for my record size rather than TT or tonearm style.

And lastly, I use the on-board pre-amp on the LP120, the old and cheap Behringer I had before sounds even worse than the on-board one. Would be nice to get that upgraded to as long as I can find a decently affordable option. For example, I found this on Amazon. Although it looks legit with the tubes and all, it is only 65 bucks and I don't want to waste my time and money. If I have to pony up more than that for a decent preamp, then I may start with that before the cartridge.

I've been collecting for a few years now, only this past year have I gotten really serious about it, so I'm sitll learning. Thanks in advance!