Preamp under $2,000 used

Initm, thank you, understood. There are so many rabbit holes to go down in audio. As soon as you think you have your pre where you want, then you begin to question your source, or cables, or whatever. Therefore, I have a question for you: when you listen to music do you often find it difficult to turn off? If so, then you probably don’t need to change anything. If you don’t, then you must find the weakest link. I actually got lucky when I replaced my pre and found the sweet spot. Music is VERY difficult to turn off now. Not that I have a perfect system, but for now I’m feeling good about it.

Initm, I’ve never owned Conrad Johnson, but heard it recently at a dealer...very rich and full sounding, but a bit too soft, I like a punchier sound with dynamics and detail. Music should be fun to listen! I currently own tube and ss pre’s. I don’t notice ss is any quieter than tube, if that’s a concern. Getting advice here on Agon is great, but only takes you so far, at some point you just have to jump in the pool. Please keep us posted on your interesting journey.