Recommended Pre-Amps under 1k?

That was Andrew Robinson's pick for best amp.....

Good decision..... enjoy

I decided to go a slightly different direction and buy an Audiolab 6000A Play to replace my current integrated. I will also test it in Amp Bypass Mode with my two small amps and compare to the sound of its lower power built in amp. After buying the 6000CDT, I really fell for the Audiolab build quality, look and sound.

I may have a schiit freya + for sale. It's as good as new.

For under $1000 I also think the Schiit Freya+ to be a good option. Otherwise used is a great way to go. 

I think you picked it: Schiit Freya+. Outstanding value for the money. 

For a grand I’m thinking the Schiit as you have already considered. 

 Is a new preamp what you are looking for,or are you open to used?  I have found that buying used got me into some wonderful gear that I would have never even been able to consider on the new market. Maybe something to consider. 

Good points! And yes I would want a good remote. The Topping seems very hard to beat at a budget price. 

Is remote required? There are likely some good older units in your price range that do not have remote capability.

The Parasound P5 was a very popular "budget" pre-amp, full of features that many/most pre-amps do not offer, especially at the price. If you are looking for a lot of features, like DAC, bass management, phono pre-amp, balance control, etc., it might be a good choice. However, in my experience (yes, I owned one), the sound quality is decidedly mid-fi. It just didn't have the type of hi-fi sound quality I desired. I did not need the added features, so out it went.

If I were looking for a budget pre-amp today, I would certainly consider the Schiit or Topping, especially if they had a solid return policy. Otherwise, I would probably look for a more vintage used unit.

Thanks for the response guys. I am currently using two IOTAVX PA3’s in mono block for amplification and the SA3 as my preamp. I have Klipsch RP-8000m speakers and a MoFi studio deck with an ifi zen phono amp. I feel like the SA3 preamp and DAC section is the weakest link right now. I was planning on getting a topping DAC first and then upgrading the preamp. I like the topping pre90 but was hoping for something more full size chassis wise. 

Topping Pre90?

Used CJ or ARC.

Stereophile had a nice review of the Topping Preamp. The PRE90 @$599.

1) Post your system on the system section

2) Are you open to used or new only? open to both tubes and ss?

3) What are your sonic priorities?

Cheers,

Spencer

These look nice: