VTL, CTC, Lamm, ARC, EAR, Halcro, Mark Levison

David, I own Lamm amps and Kharma Exquisite 1D-E.ds. Although the Lamm preamp is a good choice, completely by accident, I tried a Conrad Johnson ART-II and loved it. I do have very good CCa NOS tubes in it though.

Also, Bill Parish at GTT Audio who carries both Lamm and Kharma is literally gushing about the new MBL 6010-D preamp which he says is the BEST he has ever heard - period. He has it hooked to the Lamms and the Kharma Exquisites - which is the system he made this judgment with.

As always, this is only opinion based on personal tastes and preferences so YMMV.

David,

One last minor pint of clarification. Your ears and preferences will be the final judge. BUT, I should point out that I had your same preconceived notion of the the C-J preamps as "tubey." When I got the ART-II in for audition I fully expected it to be too "tubey" and that I would not like it when matched to my Lamms and Exquisites. I could not have been more wrong. The older C-J preamps like the PV-10 et al, may indeed be warm and lush and "tubey" sounding, but the ART was nothing like this. Yes, it has the harmonic richness and, in my opinion, more natural timbre and bloom that tubes can give, but it certainly wasn't dark, rolled off, syrupy or too "tubey."

So, if I were you, I wouldn't go into my search thinking the way I did and that it will be too "tubey."

I hope this helps - good luck and I hope you find a great match for your incredible system!!