It is a good idea to purchase a vintage tube pre-amp.

The classic SP-15 is a classic ARC pre & cherry ripe for high end mods imho. Bare is mind, it is quite old, so unless you find one already refurbed unit, I would look for a stock example in good nic & save up for a refurb incl: higher end caps, some nice WBT rca jacks, Furutech IEC & some nice matched NOS tubes. The only caveat is you’ll need single ended cables. Also, the included phono stage is ok, but i’d look for something like a 2nd hand ARC PH3 SE if you want a decent matching phono stage.

@bdp24, Sure. But the SP15 would be fun to go all out modding ;) The look and vintage of the two components would match up nicely too.

Faust, a happy medium might be something like the LS16 as bdp24 suggested, or even a later model. I'd keep an eye out on Agon, USA Audiomart & Ebay. My only advice is be cautious about the seller's feedback and condition of the amp.

@baranyi, I'd second the Modwright SWL 9.0 Anniversary Edition which is $2900 mspr + $300 for the optional phono stage (with the caveat there are no balanced connections). The Backert Labs pre also looks like a bargain.