Agree on NAD. Have 7020 from 1982 (is 3020 amp plus tuner). Jumper on back to get to pre-amp output. Mitsubishi DA-P20 also. Other favorites are not cheap, such as Kinergetics KPA-1 and Apt Holman. With a small speaker like ADS L420, 7020 sounds great - only 20 Wpc but heavy duty with big heat sink.
Cheap Old Preamps
I'm helping a friend look for a cheap (under 100$) old (tubed would be great but not necessary) preamp, and was wondering if you all had some ideas for what to look for (probably on eBay). I've been tracking some Dynacos, but the tube ones tend to exceed our budget. Are the SS daynaco preamps just sucky? His sources include an AR/XA TT and a really old Cambridge CDP. Amplification is a 40 wpc (I think) SS McIntosh amp (model unknown). Thanks.