Looking for a Preamp up to $3K

Last night I compared my Perfectwave DAC Bridge (lossless FLAC files)to my PS Audio GCPH phono preamp going straight to Pass amp. I've been not listening to files for a while and wanted to compare sound quality between the 2 formats.

The vinyl medium scored a TKO in the first round. I was actually surprised how bad my digital setup sounded vs the vinyl rig - VPI Scoutmaster Dynavector XXV mark 2 cart.

What's this have to do with needing a preamp?

In some ways I'm surprised at how, for lack of a better descriptor, precise even the vinyl rig sounds. The digital gives me the obvious leading edge transients and infinite highs but at the expense of sounding fake. I think a preamp can provide some realness to the digital rig while adding some 3 dimensionality to the vinyl rig.

The MBL's won't hide any shortcomings IMO.

If I had more budget I would go with the Pass XP20 for sale down the street. Coupled with the X350.5 it probably wouldn't get much better.

The Aestetix Calypso is a well regarded pre. Have to add that to my short list.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Looking at the MBL 5011. I know I know, it's nearly twice my budget.

Having the MBL 121's I can certainly appreciate the stellar quality of MBL line. It really is amazing. I have one speaker that sustained damage to its finish - not done by me. I cannot find someone who can fix the deep mirror like finish. Is that a downside?

The preamp IMO is sort of the "general" of the system. I'd like to own the Patten if I could but maybe not so aggresive :)

Looks like one can be had for around 5K. Is it worth it?

The Pass, well yes that would solve the preamp search. Wonder if anyone has compared the MBL and Pass side by side?

Not to familar with CJ components. Hum.