Appreciate recommendations for SS preamp purchase

I have a Cambridge Audio 840E preamp, which you can find used for under $1000. Am pleasantly surprised at how nice and clean this pre-amp sounds. Those Terrapin modules and the discrete resistor/relay attenuator work quite well.

Don't think specs will help you make a decision. Noise on most modern solid state amps is very good, assuming you don't have hum or ground loop problems. I have a Halo P3 as well as the Cambridge, and noise wise both are dead quite with the JC-1 power amps. As far as definition goes, the P3 can't come close to the CA.

If you don't want a remote, then the CA is not for you. You might be irritated by the click clack sound it makes changing volume as it uses a discrete resistor ladder that is relay selected, and you can hear the relays clicking on and off. But it changes volume in 1 dB increments, which is nice.

Tape loops are pretty much useless, unless you are old school and have a reel to reel or cassette deck (remember those?). Copying/repro of CDs is best done digitally on a computer with CD burners. These make exact digital copies and avoid the losses going from digital to analog back to digital again.

MP3 sources are "compressed" media and as such are not high fidelity media, IMHO.