A good 2ch preamp?

David, no, I hadnt heard of that one, but it looks good. There have been several mentioned here, and one or two in Stereophile by Tom G ("Sam Tellig") and also listed in their recommended components in the last few years. I think Creek makes a really inexpensive one too. I've never been in the market for one, so I havent paid attention to the brand names.

I think some of the posts above have ignored the initial request, $300 to $500 and short on cash because of remodeling. I think there are good choices in that price range that Chris would appreciate hearing about rather than recommendations to spend more than he wants to.

Paul, a friend uses the Creek with one of the Aleph/Volks amps with good results. I almost auditioned it in my system, but he had forgotten the remote @ home (Palm Springs) and the unit had been left on mute. LOL. Kitch said that the Foreplay preamp he built stock (and then upgraded) was a nice sounding tube unit (both ways) and I believe that even loaded (with the upgrades) it caps out @ around $300 (the stock kit is $150). It states at the website that it is a good kit for the novice (you only require basic soldering skills).

Thanx for all the input so far....you guys have been great...I appreciate it...I will keep you posted with what I decide on....but by all means keep this thread going ...it will be a few weeks before I get a preamp....I will post maybe some pictures with my progress....thanx again Chris

Actually, the Creek passive is a surprisingly good little piece of gear - it convinced me passive is the way to go once you start putting better components in the system. It will also let you know whether the components, including ICs, are as good as you think they are - so there is that caveat. I sure found out what the sonic characteristics of my cdps are - which is why I'm now on the prowl for a better one! But in my opinion, keeping things simple in the signal path is a very good thing indeed, and with a passive it's pretty dang simple. Signal go in, signal go out. The Creek does have remote volume control, so there is that bit of circuitry to consider, but I can't say I noticed any particularly egregious influence on the sound from it. It may be a tad less refined than my "better" passive, but there was also a tad bit of a price difference. I also lost the remote volume control capability, but I guess I'm either not as lazy as I look, or am becoming an audio purist of some odd variety. In any event, imho, at this price point, I'd second the Creek as a very attractive option.