Like Natalie, I recommend that you make the stretch. Today I saw an Audible Illusions Modulus 3 (not 3a) on Audiogon for $700. I owned that preamp until I got a Meridian 518 digital controller that gives me volume control of my dac. It's killer. The only slight downside to that pre is that it doesn't go aaaall the way down below about 30 hz. If you're planning to get speakers that don't go that low you'll be fine.
Another alternative. If you're going for a cd-only system, you might want to consider a cd player with a volume control and eliminate the pre-amp altogether.
A caution about your room. If you're planning to use homosote as a sound-proofing material, all I can say is that I know of two bad experiences with homosote (it's that stuff that looks like 3/4 inch-thick cardboard). In the first, it was put in an amateur-built vocal sound booth for recording. In the other, it was used as soundproofing in a dedicated listening room like the one you plan to build. In both cases, it created a very nasty, almost metallic sounding slap-echo (clap your hands and the echo sounded like you were in a metal tank). Do a little research about matierials for your listening room, and happy listening!
Another alternative. If you're going for a cd-only system, you might want to consider a cd player with a volume control and eliminate the pre-amp altogether.
A caution about your room. If you're planning to use homosote as a sound-proofing material, all I can say is that I know of two bad experiences with homosote (it's that stuff that looks like 3/4 inch-thick cardboard). In the first, it was put in an amateur-built vocal sound booth for recording. In the other, it was used as soundproofing in a dedicated listening room like the one you plan to build. In both cases, it created a very nasty, almost metallic sounding slap-echo (clap your hands and the echo sounded like you were in a metal tank). Do a little research about matierials for your listening room, and happy listening!