SS pre sounds like tubes

In case I wasn't clear in my post, there is a used Vibe/Pulse for sale here that may not be too far above your budget. I was not suggesting that you buy a new one.

inburrito, your statement,

Tom Evans Vibe, was the best preamp I have had

makes me wonder, why look at anything else? There is the latest model Vibe-Lithos 7 and Pulse II for sale right now and I know they are excellent, because I used to own them (but have no affiliation with the current seller).

I really liked that preamp because of its clarity, even-handed treatment of all frequencies and touch of fullness which, in combo, made it very musical and enjoyable to listen to.  It is absolutely quiet which would be a nice feature with today's high resolution digital sources.  For a number of years I kept going back to them and I actually owned four of them at different times.  I have owned over 20 relatively high quality preamps in the $4-10K range (including many with tubes) and would put the TE Vibe with Pulse in the top three.  IMO, it really does nothing wrong.  I would call the soundstage "tidy" instead of expansive, but I was fine with that.  Another issue some might have, in comparison to the best preamps in the range, it was not the most dynamic pre I have owned, but it was always very musical and well-balanced.  It was amazing to me that TE was able to accomplish such a nice sounding preamp using op amps which, in general, I have found to flatten the sound and reduce micro-dynamics vs. using discrete circuits.  I do not notice this with the Vibe.  I would never say it sounds like a tubed preamp, but I would say I liked it better than several highly rated tubed preamps.

As far as a purchase, it seems things have improved somewhat in that there is a larger USA dealer network than I ever remember.   SORAsound and Sound by Singer are listed as Dealers, but no USA "distributor" is listed.  If you go to the TEAD USA website, more dealers are listed.  If you go to the TEAD UK website, the company appears to be more active than in the recent past, with new products in design or production and even an upgrade offered to the Vibe.   

Let us know what you end up with.

czarivey, if you liked Steve's Micro Line Drive, check out (on my system page) what he built for me out of a TLC-1. A buffered no-gain preamp using Lundahl transformers, an outboard choke power supply and a Shallco discrete resistor volume control using Audio Note tantalum resistors.  It is the only preamp I have owned that I like better than the Vibe/Pulse combination.  I would rank Lamm LL2 Deluxe third, and everything else further down the line, including two that were $10K+.  IMO, it has nothing to do with tubes vs. SS, but rather does the preamp adequately drive the power amps, is it quiet and clean sounding, does it have body and drive, and is it musical.

I believe the TEAD Vibe has only 6dB gain.  It is very quiet but still has great body and tone.
For my preamp, Steve offered me the option of zero gain or +6dB through the transformers, same as his VRE-1, and I chose zero gain.  Having zero gain has in no way affected the body or drive of this preamp, which are outstanding. I have not had an opportunity to try the LDR based preamps yet and, since I need balanced gear, they are harder to find.  I did try the Bent/Jay Sho autoformer preamp and thought it sounded good but not to the level of my preamp, which seemed to have a bit more body and richness, to me.  I have always liked the sound of good resistor volume controls for some reason and the tantalum resistors Steve used in mine are very nice sounding indeed, and even more musical than the low noise, laser trimmed, 0.5% nichrome SMD resistors used in a Goldpoint passive I have here.

It is listed for sale here on Audiogon by Mark Block, with the Pulse II.