I like the buffered version of the Placette - sounds more like a direct bypass than any other preamp I have tried. But being a good Kiwi, I have to point out that the new Plinius linestage preamp sounds great too.
If you had to make this decision....
I'm looking for some advice on preamps for my system. Aside from sounding great, a remote and HT loop/direct would be useful. I've heard the BAT50SE, CJ16LS, Melos 333 and Levinson 38S. None of these jumped out as clearly better. My system is Levinson 31 -> Audio Logic DAC -> Meridian 568 -> VTL MB750 -> Magnepan 3.6R. Any suggestions on what else to try?