The Rogue Audio will give you the great dynamic range combined with tube smoothness that's not overly tubey. I had the Hera II for a number of years and it was the best I had (unfortunately had to downgrade due to space limitations). The new Rp-7 is balanced and rp-5 unbalanced and are both excellent compared to anything listed on this thread. Pairing with the m-180s or the Hydra/Medusa hybrids is amazing. The best bang for your buck unless you want to spend 3x to 4x money. Also hand made in USA. My 2 cents...
What are the more subtle sounding tube preamps?
I mean "subtle" as in relatively less tube saturation or color than your average tube-pre. Common sense tells me less tubes as in a single dual-triode, but in reality that may not be the case. I currently have my eye on a CJ Classic. Not sure if that will fit the bill. Any suggestions welcome.