$3500 to spend on a tube preamp....ideas?

I prefer the Lightspeed to my most recent tube linestages - CAT, Lamm, ARC, Dodd, and the excellent Joule LA150 Signature Edition - I would save the $3000. That being said, the Mapletree 2A SE $800 with the Blackgate Capacitor upgrade is very, very good compared to the other more expensive linestages I have own, what is best is that it not only uses the 6sn7 tube, my favourite in a line stage, but with the flip of a switch it can also use 12sn7s which run half the price of 6sn7 NOS and sound indentical as far as I can tell. Include separate tube regulated power supply!! I had to own the expensive stuff before I could believe in well engineered, less expensive gear - the Mapletree is very well designed and you can buy an awful lot of music with the difference in price. Still, to my ears, the $500 is the best I've heard with a single source. If you want to spend more, the Joule preamps are wonderful.

I beleive it would have to be a Joule LA 150 MKII if wanted to upgrade to the SE version at a later date - taking an great preamp to start with and making it even better, most noticeably in bass performance, which is already first rate, which I preferred to my CAT SL1 Ultimate MKII (with Music Reference RM9SE and Merlin speakers - not sure which you would prefer though, system and taste could take you either way, both superb; but I would not hesitate to try the Mapletree because it is so much cheaper, it competes with the higher ticket preamps I have owned).

Mechans, that is why I think I would love the DeHavilland as well, it sounded great at RMAF. Now that I think about it, my Atma-sphere preamp also makes use of the 6sn7, but as you say, everyone has their preferences....

oops, the great sound in the DeHavilland room may have also had something to do with the source, amp, and speakers as well. I was very close to buying one, till I saw the Mapletree which simply sounded like the though behind it was very sound - no pun intended. My expecations were tempered, after all I was accoustomed to 5-8k preamps so what could I expect from this little $800 preamp! Well, since I had the Lighspeed already, it opened my up to the idea that SOTA sounds doesn't always mean lots of $$$$, though you will get better looking metal work and chassis with more expensive gear - but at 53 and many years in the hobby, going "backwards" has a certain appeal to me. Another great low cost item ($1,950 MSRP) is the Music Reference RM10 - but that a story for another day.