I would certainly consider a Pass XP-20. It is quiet, well balanced, open and not lean sounding, in my system with Pass amps. It costs about $8K.
Is there a fined Solid state Pre Amp for under 8k?
This year I sold a Ayre K5xe preamp and a Parasound JC-2 each had their own the strengths and weaknesses but neither was quite a keeper. The JC2 was too lean sounding but very open, the Ayre was more balanced tonally but lacked the openness. If I could blend the best characteristics of these two preamps together, I would be very happy. Anyone out there have another solid state recommendation? Any help would be appreciated