What is it with you guys who feel you have to throw ever more money at something thinking it just can't be any good if I don't drop $2500 on a preamp or $35,000 on a pair of speakers? Look into a VTA SP14 (tubes4hifi.com) with an Aikido circuit. You can build it for less than $1000. For a reasonable amount more, they'll build it your spec. Get it with stepped attenuators and balanced outputs if you like. Then take the $1000 you saved and go to some concerts or buy some records.
You could REALLY save yourself a boatload by buying Aikido circuit boards, power supply, etc and build it all from scratch. Glassware Audio sells most of what you need. You can build a preamp equal to that $5000 name brand for 1/10th as much. But then you wouldn't be able to sneer at the rest of us who don't drop that kind of bread, would you?
You could REALLY save yourself a boatload by buying Aikido circuit boards, power supply, etc and build it all from scratch. Glassware Audio sells most of what you need. You can build a preamp equal to that $5000 name brand for 1/10th as much. But then you wouldn't be able to sneer at the rest of us who don't drop that kind of bread, would you?