My vote is for Audio Research. Watch the market and you can easily resell the piece if you buy smart. For your budget you can get a REF 3 that is still well respected as an excellent preamp.
I have a B&K REF5 S2 and replaced it with an ARC LS3B which completely opened up my sound. Recently I moved to the ARC LS26 which made another nice advancement in my system.
Preamps are probably the easiest component to deal with in the used market as they are mostly not too bulky nor heavy. Whether it is an ARC component or any of the others, follow the same strategy to buy smart....enjoy it in your system for a while and decide if it has what you seek. If not resell and try again!
Have fun!!
I have a B&K REF5 S2 and replaced it with an ARC LS3B which completely opened up my sound. Recently I moved to the ARC LS26 which made another nice advancement in my system.
Preamps are probably the easiest component to deal with in the used market as they are mostly not too bulky nor heavy. Whether it is an ARC component or any of the others, follow the same strategy to buy smart....enjoy it in your system for a while and decide if it has what you seek. If not resell and try again!
Have fun!!