Opinions: Used BAT VK-51SE or New VK-23SE

@mattmiller , ahhh, now I see why you were calling Nordost and Morrow cables "neutral" on that other thread.
I do believe that they would sound very good with warmer components like McIntosh and Dynaudio. The upper midrange/ lower treble emphasis on those silver clad copper cables would offset the warmish balance of your amp/speakers and probably "balance out" very nicely.

Anyway, to this thread, I have owned 9 pieces of BAT gear over the years (none in the past 10 years though), but "dry" is not a term that I would associate with the BAT gear that I have owned.
Sure, there are warmer/sweeter sounding preamps, there are also preamps that offer higher resolution (dryer sounding?).
Personally, I currently own Audio Research preamp, and I do enjoy it, but I would say that it is "dryer" sounding than the BAT VK-51SE that I owned years ago.
The higher resolution of the ARC mates well with the warmth of my Pass Labs amps though, it’s all about synergy.

Most folks like to balance resolution (dry) with warmth in their systems, though we go about it different ways. Some prefer drier cables with warmer components, some drier components with warmer cables, etc.
There are many ways to achieve a similar end result.

Bottom line: If presented with the choice between a VK-51SE and a VK-23SE, I would choose the VK-51SE, as I will take almost any tube preamp over almost any SS preamp.
I did own a tubed BAT amp (VK-75SE) and a SS BAT amp (VK-600SE w/ Super-Pak), and I preferred the sound of the VK-75SE.

Any particular McIntosh or Audio Research preamps you can suggest in my range?

What is it that you are looking for? Point us in a general direction.
Are you looking for more resolution, or more musicality?
Normally you have to decide which direction you want to go.
As you get warmer/sweeter sound, you tend to lose resolution, and vice versa.

Also, do you really need the 300 wpc that the Emotiva XPR-2 amp puts out?
I ask because your speakers seem fairly efficient, and perhaps a nice integrated amp may be the answer.

Perhaps a BAT VK-300(0)SE as @dweller mentions above, a Pass Labs INT-150, Coda CSiB, or a McIntosh Integrated amp (too many choices to list) would provide even better results than mating any preamp to your Emotiva amp.

If you do need all of that power, the Coda CSiB puts out a hefty 400 wpc into 8 ohms and 800 wpc into 4 ohms!! They do pop up occasionally for about $3K used.

Integrated amps would save you money on your cable budget too.

Well all 4 that I listed, BAT, Pass Labs, Coda, and McIntosh are on the warmer side of neutral, as is the Accuphase that you mention.

Accuphase E-470 are certainly rare on the used market, but they do pop up once in a while for around $5-6K. While that is a bit more than you were looking to spend on a preamp, it may be attainable considering you could sell your Emotiva power amp, and an integrated amp would require fewer cables/cords.

There is currently an Accuphase E-307 Integrated amp w/phono on Audiogon listed for $2,400 used.
There's also a BAT VK-300SE listed for $3,025, which seems a bit high to me.

My recommendation would be to get a BAT VK-300SE (plentiful in the $2000 range)

That's why. $3025 is about 50% more than the going rate for one of these units. Now if you want to pay 50% more for a certification and/or MM phono stage, that's fine.

BTW, if you go to the TMR website you can find the same unit for $2824.
But feel free to pay more, some have no problem spending more for the same. ;^)

Matt, I don't totally disagree with your findings, and thank you for better describing "dry".
I do agree that the BAT's strength is power and dynamics, but I'm not sure about the " cold, uninspiring, and no beauty of tone, don’t look for musicality either".
Yes, I will say that the BAT was not as sweet and musical in the midrange as other preamps I have heard (CJ, Cary, McIntosh (as mentioned by stereo5), etc.). However, the BAT's I have owned fell about middle of the pack in the warmth, beauty of tone, musicality viewpoint.
It's all about synergy though. Perhaps I would have had your same BAT impression had I been using cold, analytical cables like Nordost with the BAT like you did.

In the end, the final sound is a combination of the entire system.
Probably the reason you like cables from Nordost and Morrow (which both use silver plated copper which I find to be too thin and cold sounding for my tastes), is because you use very warm components like Dynaudio speakers and McIntosh amps. I'm sure that if I went with warmer components I might have a better appreciation for Nordost cables.

I think we all look for a nice, balanced tone, how we get there may be very different though.

Cheers,
John