I have been using a friends PV4 and 6 and both are quite good and have convinced me of tubes on the front end. They are older technology but well maintained. It is a bit warm but the midrange is great and it sounds right. I would agree for a good price ($200-300) it might acquaint you with the tube pre experience if you are a little leery. If you can do better in terms of $$ I would look for a more recent CJ pre like the PV12-14. The current production The Classic is available for $1500 from Spearit Sound and it has great ratings from users and Stereophile. If you can swing that kind of money then I would not hestiate to go there.
