Tube Pre to mate with Parasound JC-1s & Maggies?

Nice system...i like both pieces and bet they work pretty well together. I imagine you'd want a good, clean sounding tube (rather than super-golden?)...you've got good natural tonality with what you've got...just a guess as thats a personal opinion only you should decide.

ARC LS25/26 series, CJ PV14L2? (PV14 1 was a touch hazy), audible illusions, BAT. good luck and pls keep us posted.

Just saw an ARC LS25 on AGon now...with some very nice tubes i see. i own Amperex 7308 white labels. nice. good luck

A newer model Rogue99 magnum will be just the ticket ,and they even have an optional phone board that just plugs in and comes with a seperate power supply which is a big plus..
The 6sn7 Vaccuum tube is one of the best ever made and has superb sonic characteristics much more realism and life than the much smaller 12ax7,or 12au7.I have also had the so called super tube all it is is a much more linear 6922
or 6dj8. if you want total nuetrality it is good if you want a little body and a more 3 dimentional sound than the 6sn7 tube is the ticket.

Audible Illusions Modulus 3A. Can be had here for 1000-1400.00.

I think you need a very lively preamp to go with the JC-1's. My experience is that the Audible Illusions isn't all that lively. Rogure might do. An older CAT. How about an EAR? Not quite as lively, but very musical and far above the AI, you might find a Hovland HP-100. Let us know what you end up with.

EE minimax is quite lively.

The ARC's are always great, of course.

I have had a Cary SLP98p (mine and F1 version from Upscale Audio) that was sublime with the JC-1's and my 3.6R's.

Good luck.

Many thanks for the great input so far - you've given me some good places to begin my research. As I wrote, I am relatively unexperienced with tube gear but was surprised to see no one has suggested a Shindo Aurieges ..?

Quicksilver Full Function Tube Preamp with plenty of gain. The new model rarely appears on Audiogon for around $2000 and it has a great tube phono section. Have patience.

Shindo is great stuff. i have heard and deeply respected one of their mid-level pres in my system. Depends on what you want. It is literally one of the most musical pres i have heard...ever. it has a touch of midrange magic that is stunning...though partly because it is a slight bit forward...which you can hear on orchestral when the strings seem more forward than typical. But on, say, Eric Clapton, when Clapton's voice just seems to captivate...it is quite magical...some would say spellbinding.

The impedance on your amp vs the Shindo is something to doublecheck. i also think you should consider that no Shindo comes with a remote...important for some, less so for others.

Another data point...the number of people who buy shindo and say they have stopped looking...that says a lot to me. good luck and pls keep us posted!

I used the BAT VK-31se with the JC-1s for around a year. Very nice together. It added what IMO the Parasounds lacked, weight and body throughout the freq. range.

Again, many thanks for the helpful input given above. I have questions about two tube preamps not so far mentioned - the Aesthetix Calypso & the Mysteré ca 21. Can anyone give input about how either might fit into my set up? Thanks!