I agree with Aball. The speakers you use will have a great impact on the final sound. That said, i was very happy using a Supratek Chardonnay tube pre with my 352 running into TDL Reference Studio Monitors.
Pres that go with Mcintosh amps
Other than the obvious choice of using Mcintosh Pres with Mcintosh amps........ is there any magical matings that anyone has found. I had an Audio Research pre with a Mac amp and it was too laid back, the Mac pre I later installed did push the music forward (forward pre, laid back amp)synergy........... I guess I'm asking which preamps are forward sounding? I'm about to get my hands on MC352 and at the moment can't buy a highend Mcintosh pre to match it. thanks for your input.