Preamp suggestions

Thank you all for your suggestions and ideas. It makes sense to go with a passive preamp and I do like the concept of the Schiit with a tube to add a bit of "Colour".  I would however like to have a built-in phono section and the ability to manually adjust with tone controls.  I would prefer to buy an American or Canadian product and would pay up to $500.  Im not opposed to a lightly used unit either.  Thank you again!  

I really appreciate your guidance and the time you took to make these suggestions. I believe I will go with the Schiit which I just looked up thanks to your link.  Is there a preference on tubes? They offer a Russian or Tung Sol.  I was also looking at a Parasound P/FET- 900 II that is for sale on eBay for $170.  Phono section and tone controls. Any thoughts??

That is correct mrdecibel, I am running the Snell E series 2 speakers. 

Just making sure that I am following all of you correctly. With the Snell's in the mix a preamp with some at least minimal amount of gain is now the suggestion. The Schiit Freya is a good suggestion. Also found a Classe Audio DR-4 for about the same price as the Freya.  Still no phono section however. Mcreyn thank you very much for your offer on the phono stage.  That's very generous of you.  Depending on what I wind up with that would be terrific. Also, I hadn't mentioned this before but I do have a McIntosh MA6100 which I have used in the past as a preamp only.  Sadly my home was hit by lightning two weeks ago when my Mac was playing. I am trying to get repaired if possible 😦. It will power on but when I switch to select a source it trips and dies out.  Should I assume that if it can be repaired you would recommend using that as my preamp? Thank you again.  You've been incredibly helpful 

Thank you mcreyn for fielding the suggestion from bigkidz that intuitiveky and pragmatically made absolutely zero sense.  I like idea of the Schiit Freya but I really would like a built in phono and I do need a front facing power switch due to the demands of my physical component setup.  If I took the American and Canadian factors out of the equation and bumped up my budget by $200 what other thoughts do you have?  Thank you to George as well.. 😁

Hello again. Thank you bigkidz for clarifying your previous suggestion.  In terms of source inputs, I primarily use an iPod directly plugged in with RCA to an an available AUX port.  I will sometimes stream music via a WiFi connection. I will also occasionally use a conventional CD player and of course I will use the turntable.  So.... Basically everything except DAC and tape.  I had no real complaints about the use of my Mac other than the lack of power and I felt I was lacking sine midrange.  I have the biwire connections on my speakers jumped.  I do not have a preference with the remote as I have never felt the need to have one. I'm quite grateful for your feedback.  

Also, your advice on bringing the Naka in for tech service is a great thought.  Just before I purchased it the seller had brought it in to a tech in Watertown MA who has 40+ years of experience at Audio Proz.  He went through it thoroughly and bench tested it and said it is very close to new in condition and functioning like a new amp.  

Thank you mcreyn.  Your feedback has been incredibly useful in my decision making process.  I am ready to pull the trigger on the Emotiva unit you suggested.  Just before I do I got contacted by a friend yesterday who is selling his Parasound 2100 preamp. It looks interesting. It has a front facing MP3 jack with gain and also a frequency adjustable out for a sub in the back. I have the option of using a powered Pinnacle sub in my system at home.  Also has a remote, phono section and meets the rest of my needs. Not sure of your thoughts on that... I would have mentioned it prior but I didn't hear this until last night.  He's asking $450 and it has had minimal use.  Also, does Furman make an equivalent power strip to the one you recommend?  I don't have my setup in a rack. Any ideas about a specific fan to cool the Naka?  Gratefully - Greg 

Wow!  I didn't know such a thing existed either.  I just ordered the Parasound 2100 off of eBay last night.  Debating about new speaker cable and doing some research. The audiophile community is quite divided about whether high priced cable is legit. Strong arguments for each side. Seems to come down mostly to resistance more than anything else (i.e. materials, connectors etc).   Trying to decide about purchasing an external DAC but some folks are saying it's not necessary... Also debating about throwing my powered sub into the mix and pairing them with my Magnapan SMGa speakers or just sticking with my Snell's.  mcreyn you've been abundantly helpful with all of this.  

Mcreyn just a quick update on your recommendations.  I've had the system running with my Snells, Parasound 2100 and the Naka pA-5 amp.  Didn't realize how thirsty my speakers were for some clean power.  I knew the Mac I was using was underpowered but didn't expect such a drastic difference.  New cable question. I've been using the front facing MP3 input to my iPod classic where I have the bulk of my music.  Trying to find a male to male 3.5mm cable thats good quality. Preferrably Canare like my other cables.  Can't seem to locate one though.... But I bet you know of one.  Thank you again.  Cheers.  BTW. I also used to have a Hafler powering a set of Maggie's as well... Cheers!