I would have to say the Morrison Elad Preamp. I have gone through several amps and speakers in the last 6 years, but I am still impressed with it's lack of identifiable "sound". Having said that, I would still give it up for a McIntosh C200.
budget component in high-end system?
Does anyone use a budget component in an otherwise high-end system? You always see reviews of budget components where the reviewers says the piece comes very close to things costing much, much more money. Does anyone use any of these so called "budget" components by choice? ex. $500 cd player with $10,000 amplification.