I concur, the best way to go is with a dedicated Phono preamp. I have one turntable with this built in (but I don’t use it) I have 2 discreet phono preamps, one of which, a terratec is not bad. I, however prefer to use the one built into my Soundcraft mixer, as it also has built-in DI for guitars - just makes my input patching easier, and also services as a headphone distributer for the artist cues.
Anyway, this might be something to look into - a small mixer such as used by DJs will usually have Phono Preamps built in, plus you have the advantage of having a HW premixer should you ever need one.