What pre amp to use in my system?

Well, about why I think I should get a preamp, it is quite a long process as everyone has gone through. I originally has a Rotel 1055 receiver with my CDM 9 NT. Then, I change it to a Denon 988 to take advantage of the 7.1 and the DTS-HD master for Blu-ray. Then I found out the sound for music is not as good as my Rotel receiver before. Since I thought the amp and the speaker are the most important component, I got the Rotel RB 1080 and use the Denon as the processor/preamp. Base on my research, it is not a bright amp. However, I am still not satisfied with the result. Therefore I decided to try adding a preamp. And to my surprise, the effect is much more significant than changing the amp. At this point, I believe changing the preamp will give me the biggest effect. And I would like to keep the speaker and the amp. So .. if I wait and save, what are the suggestions?

Thanks.

Lewinskih01:
Rotel RC 1070 is one of the candidates on my list, but it seems it has mix reviews, and it is more expensive than NAD or Adcom. Does it sound warm and smooth with the RB 1080?

Rleff:
For the tube preamp, it seems my choice are very limited for my budget of $400. I can see there is a Dynaco PAS 3, is it good? Is there other good suggestion? How do you feel about a home built unit? There is a local guy who build tube preamp, and he can build one for about $300, and he said it is "rebirth" of Pas 3, and from the photo, the circuits are very simple. Is it trust worthy?

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I agree with you about the resale value, since it is home built, it is impossible to find any reviews, and this is also one of the reason holding me back. I can go to do an audition, but it would be in his system, and it doesn't guarantee how it sound in my system. It seems a saver bet is to get a SS preamp like Rotel or NAD.

But you also think the RC 1070 + RB 1080 + CM 4 sounds a bit harsh, I think I will hold back for the Rotel since this is exactly the reason I sold my Adcom, and the Rotel is more expensive, so, it seems a bigger risk to take.

I found a used Rotel RC 1070 at a decent price. I will give that a try. I think I won't lose much even I don't like it and sell it back out. If that doesn't work for me, I guess I will try out the home build tube unit. That guy seems to build quite alot of tube preamp and amp, and seems to know what he is doing.

BTW, there is a Meridian 562v selling for $300. It seems it is a good price. It seems it is a processor and preamp .. is it a good unit for the preamp? I can't find any review on it. And since it is a much older unit, is it worth the effort to get it also to compare with the Rotel, and sell one out later?

I got my RC-1070, it is not as musical and dynamic as my previous Adcom preamp. However, on the other hand, it is not as bright and not as harsh.

Thanks for the replies. It seems I am going to try a tube pre, and will have to increase my budget to 700-800. In that range, I can find some Audio Research like the VT-60. How does the Audio Research sound compare to the Conrad Johnson? I read some good reviews on AR tube pres. I will do some research on the CJ as well.