When I was looking at phono preamps about four years ago, the choices were somewhat less than today, but I did not find a huge difference between those in the price ranges you're looking at. Read a few reviews if you want but I don't think you have to agonize too much if you need to stick to a strict budget in the range you mentioned.
I ended up buying an Acoustic Signature Tango on sale for about $400 from Jerry Raskin's Needle Doctor in Minneapolis, which was a bit more than I intended to spend, but in the end I'm glad I did pony up the extra cash. It is a very, very neutral preamp and I'm quite pleased with it. (I use it with a Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood).
You could consider hunting the usual sites for a used phono stage that otherwise would be outside your price range if buying new. There is a bit of a jump in performance if you go beyond your price range to the $400~1000 range, and there are lots of good choices. Some careful shopping might yield good results, within budget. There are many very good choices out there if you are buying used; too many to list, really.
Also, it's an area (as are turntables themselves) where people often upgrade, especially if the first unit they buy is similar to what you are looking at. It's not particularly hard to find a decent unit used that would otherwise be a few hundred out of your budget new.
One thing I would suggest is perhaps considering a unit that is MM only if you decide to buy new and stick within your stated budget. Active MC preamps are not particularly easy to pull off to begin with, and I didn't find the MC stages in the units similar to what you're looking at to be particularly remarkable; more like an afterthought that, although competent, are not particularly noteworthy.
How do you move to MC, then, you must be thinking? I'm going to suggest a MC transformer, rather than an active stage MC step-up amp, which plugs into your MM input. They often are much more neutral and typically very transparent compared with active MC stages. Because of the nature of MC designs, transformers are very good interfaces for these cartridges.
You can find good used units from companies like Audio-Technica, Denon, for not too much money; or if you're lucky, the Bryston or perhaps Ortofon or Fidelity Research units. As long as no-one tries to take them apart or modify them, they generally don't break. They mate well with a decent MM stage, including the ones you are considering, and resale value is very good; you should not have to worry about losing money if you sell one.
You can wait and then budget for the jump to MC later, getting both the cartridge and a transformer at the same time. A Denon tranformer/DL 103 combo is a giant killer, and a great start with MC without breaking the bank. Also, there are always units like the Dynavector high output MCs that are also great introductions to the MC "sound" that don't necessarily need a MC step-up device at all. Many aftermarket MM phono stages have better than average gain, especially compared to the built-in units like in your Onkyo.
You can also buy very good transformers these days from some of the smaller audio specialists, who typically offer both a kit and a pre-built option. The performance you can get from a good transformer mated to a MM stage cannot really be equaled without spending much, much more for an active MC stage ... in fact there are those who would suggest certain transformers are state of the art, limited only by the MM stage (which an active MM/MC preamp has to have, anyway).
The Bugle can be found pre-assembled as well; it's a very good unit.
You have a great table/arm combo to work with there; have fun. My comments are my own personal opinions and based on my own experiences; you should seek out others' as well. Perhaps more than anything in HiFi, loudspeakers included, phono choices are very personal and I encourage you to come to your own conclusions and learn your own likes and dislikes. You are shopping in a "sweet spot" for phono amplification where you will be able to hear differences in pickups with any of the choices available to you.
I know many people who share both a good ear and good taste and I can tell you that almost to a man, no two prefer the same cartridges, but they will often agree that their choice and another's are "good".
I would like to finish by suggesting that you don't forget that there are many very good MM cartridges out there that are worth exploring. Although I love some of the things an MC can do, like all cartridges, they do not do everything perfectly. I could be very happy playing with some of the better MM designs for a very long time without going to MC at all; I suspect you could as well.
