I have had great luck pairing the Musical Fidelity kW preamp with Nelson Pass's First Watt amps. There is one for sale used now I believe. You will be hard pressed to find a better preamp for the money. Check out the Stereophile review (and the review's measurements), and other reviews on the unit. A tank, with a massive power supply. Truly the game changer in my system.
Pre-amp suggestions for Thiel 2.4/Pass Labs XA30.5
Looking to get a pre-amp to mate with my Thiel 2.4s and the Pass Labs XA-30.5. I've got about at $2500 limit and need a phono section (or need to to pick up a MM phono stage in addition... but still stay under the $2500 limit). I'm currently using a Classe CAP-151's pre-amp section, but it seems that it's getting outclassed a bit by the new additions. Any suggestions? I'm open to both tube and SS options.