Looking for the good sounding Pre Amplifier

Hello NAD C275,

I do not believe that you are being dissed because of your amp.
Most people have never heard a direct feed from a CD player to 
an amp. Many amps deliver more than 10db above the normal
listening volume. That is over twice as loud as you want to hear.
I ran into this problem about 20 years ago and began the search
that you are on. The solution will sound simple but it will require
you to spend some time at it. All active and passive preamps
leave a noise and distortion thumb print. What you need is a way
to divide the voltage between two resistors of the highest quality
you can find. I would use Vishay naked, or Mills, or your Choice.
First you need to find out what the values need to be. You will need
to find a volume control that is about 10-50k( for SS or 50k-500k for tubes)
that does not ad much color or noise. The first one I tried was a
cheep Radio Shack. I now use DACT. They are not cheep but you
get what you pay for. Place it between your CD player and amp.
Adjust the volume to your most used. This will change slightly from
day to day and the CD you are listening to. Remove it (being careful
not to change it at all) and measure the resistances across it. This is
your starting point. Go to a company that carries high quality resistors.
Google Vishay and high end audio parts to find sources. Cut a low price
connector about 55-65% through so that the ground shield is still connected.
Strip the outside down about a one fourth of an inch and twist and ad the
shield wires to the still connected area. Connect the series resistor between
the cut center leads (hot). Connect the other resistor to the amp end of the hot  
wire resistor end and the other end to the Ground Shield. This is now a
voltage divider. Make sure the hot and grounds are not touching and are not
able to touch anything. Use electrical tape for this. You can now connect it to
your CD player and amp. You will only hear what the series resistor sounds 
like as long as you use the same type to ground. Electrons flow from ground 
to +. Not + to ground. Think about it. Good luck! Happy Listening!   My Best.

THANK YOU ALL ON YOUR OPINIONS.
I ordered a passive Preamp. from Europe. It will be made by the NAD specs. A Preamp. will have Takman Rex shunt resistors and 48 position shunt type attenuator. The maker of a Pre amplifier guarantee full transparency since he also makes a passive Pre amplifiers for the owners
of the Accuphase gear. So let's see / hear.

Helo Topten(Nad C275)

The info I gave you was general to all. This is for your amp.
I just looked up the input Z of your amp and saw that it is listed as 100k. This is high for a SS. When you buy a volume control to test it you will need to get a 100k pot. I do not have the schematic but I will bet that it has a 100k resistor as the input Z. You can replace it with a volume control of that value as long as the pot is a constant 100k no mater what the position. Not all do. If you are not good with a soldering iron you should take it in to your local repair shop and have them do it for you. You can drill a hole in the top plate that the pot will fit in. Run wires from the pot to board and control the volume with the pot. You will ad the sound of the pot you choose. You could also buy a gold point without resistors and choose your own. Use the type of control that only has one resistor in series with the amp. Good Luck! Happy Listening!  My Best

Buy a NAD M51 DAC - it functions like pre with volume control, stereophile class A rated (if that matters to you), under your 3k amount and if you ever upgrade it will be a good digital founation. 

Good choice! Sorry. I thought you were trying to keep the sound as clean and pure as possible. Happy Listening.