Line Stage Preamps that blew you away $2500 Edition

I don't have a lot of experience with preamps. I mainly used integrateds until a couple years ago and got a Don Sachs Model 2. I love it. Not only does it sound great but Don is great to work with and I love the bespoke, handmade vibe of it. However... I've been curious about trying a solid state preamp in my system, which is predominantly tube based. I was curious about trying the Kinki Studio P7, but in my research I somehow came across the Audio GD HE 1 preamp. Then I learned about the balanced XLR version and while it is a tube preamp I decided (after way too much bourbon and way too late at night) to give it a try. I just hooked this beast of a preamp up about an hour ago and I can say it is so dead quiet I didn't think it was on. I'm not going to get into the weeds about this preamp as anyone can look it up, but so far it is impressive. I also like how much detail and dynamics I am getting at low volume. I tend to listen at low volume while working and my wife is in the other room, and again, very impressive. Its bit over the $2500 target, but the solid state version can be had at that price. Not saying its the best preamp as I can't make that claim with my limited experience but worth looking into.

I received the Audio GD HE 1 XLR preamp last week. I've had 4 days off from work and spent a couple hours a day listening to this preamp. My only other preamp I've had is the Don Sachs, latest version with the best caps Don uses. Also a great sounding preamp IMO. However, this Audio GD is something different. It is a touch softer sounding but not soft, maybe just a touch more organic. Dead quiet. Seriously. I didn't think it was on when I first turned it on. Just spacious, natural, detailed, dynamic. The Sachs is right there and fantastic, love the second RCA outputs for using a sub, love the form factor, the sound is alive and natural. The biggest difference to me is the Audio GD is dead, dead quiet and a touch more spacious. However, the Audio-GD has some quirks. First, its large and deep. It fits my cabinet but make sure it fits your space. Second, the remote isn't the most accurate. It's finicky on making visual contact with the preamp. The display is old school. For a premium product you'd think they could find a better looking display. The Sachs volume readout is much better and looks more contemporary vs. the 80's Seiko look of the display on the Audio-GD. Overall, the Sachs is better looking. May not matter to some, but for those with a WAF hurdle to navigate the Sachs looks more bespoke and is a potential conversation starter vs. the more austere looking Audio-GD. Also, when I dim the screen of the Audio-GD there's still one blue bar showing. When I cover it with electric tape it affects the remote's sensor. However, I love that the Audio-GD preserves the volume level on each input so I can volume match two inputs and then A/B on the fly. And, when it comes to sound I'd call it liquid gold. You can't really go wrong with either. Technically the Audio-GD HE 1 XLR is over $2500 but the solid state version is $2500, but might be worth the extra for the tubed XLR version.