Multi channel preamps

I went through this about a year ago - in fact you'll see my exact same post somewhere in the archives. I listened to the Audio Refinement, the McCormack, and the Bel Canto. The AR is great if you only have under a grand to spend, but I found it had some annoying qualities (upper-mids I think) that were hard to take, and not nearly as transparent as the other two. The Bel Canto I found to be by far the best - soundwise and flexibility. Read up on the technology in it and R&D involved. It's a preamp I'd be happy to have with only 2 channels. But again, you did not mention price... these are currently a steal used though.