Definitely consider one of 2 options:
(1) a good passive pre (McCormack's were made for this)
(2) a tubed pre (high input impediance on these amps makes this a good match)
There's a tradeoff either way though:
Passive's, as a rule, don't have the dynamics that an active pre brings to the party. So if you're into chamber music or soft jazz, OK. If you're a rocker or into big scale classical, then not so good.
It's very hard to find any active preamp that is as transparent as a passive (for somewhat reasonable $$$). So if you go with the passive first you might have to spend a good amount of money to find an active preamp that sounds as pure as ANY passive.
Enjoy the search,
Bob
(1) a good passive pre (McCormack's were made for this)
(2) a tubed pre (high input impediance on these amps makes this a good match)
There's a tradeoff either way though:
Passive's, as a rule, don't have the dynamics that an active pre brings to the party. So if you're into chamber music or soft jazz, OK. If you're a rocker or into big scale classical, then not so good.
It's very hard to find any active preamp that is as transparent as a passive (for somewhat reasonable $$$). So if you go with the passive first you might have to spend a good amount of money to find an active preamp that sounds as pure as ANY passive.
Enjoy the search,
Bob