Which preamp for Symphonic Line Kraft amps?

Would stick with either symphonic line rg3--ss or tube ---the CAT is also a great choice and I believe mates quite well

Jonathan_s,
you lucky so & so - a PAIR of Kraft amps! That should be -s-w-e-e-t-!!
Are you anywhere close to NC that I can drop in sometime to listen to (what seems an excellent) your setup??

which exact preamp really depends on your sonic taste. I've used the CAT preamp with great success.
A good friend of mine has tried out both the Erleuchtung & the RG3 MK4 (which he owns now). The Erleuchtung "lights" up the soundstage like only a tube preamp can. It is a bit light on the bass compared to the RG3 Mk4. Additionally, the Erleuchtung has a lot of tubes inside - each of the 5 inputs has a tube buffer, then 4 tubes for the line stage, 4 for the built-in phono stage. So, that adds up to 13 & I'm missing 1 tube somewhere - so total 14 tubes!
Both the RG3 & Erleuchtung mate very well to the Kraft amp - the RG3 has better (balls to the wall) bass.

Bombaywalla;

I am in Houston should you ever make your way down to this part of the country...

I need 4 identical channels of amplification for the Dalis, so I needed 2 of the stereo Kraft amps. I'm guessing that I can't really go wrong with either a CAT or a Symphonic Line preamp, but I haven't really seen much on the web about the latter. I'd like to use a solid state amp and get away from tubes (it can get very expensive to use NOS tubes), but I'm not sure how much of a penalty would be paid to go to the RG3 mk4 vs using one of the tubed units.

Jonathan_s,
Thanks for the prompt reply.
I will certainly keep you in mind if I make it to Houston. My Dad's school friend lives there & teaches Pharmacology at Univ of Houston. And, I have another friend in Katie.

Indeed, you cannot go wrong with either a CAT or S-L preamp. If you get the CAT, as you well know, the tubes come from Ken S after they get thoroughly screened. They are current production & cost a modest amount. Ken does not believe in NOS tubes, as you know.
In the Erleuchtung you could use NOS tubes but I supposed well screeened current production tubes from a reputed dealer will be easier on the pocket-book.
The RG3 is supposedly very good sounding & I'm told should end your quest for a preamp.
The sonics of tubed vs. s.s. is a perennial & endless debate!! Hard to say what you would lose - everyone listens differently.

Jonathan,

The Kraft amp has a 10K input impedance and a high sensitivity. In my experience (very limited), you need a preamp with a very low output impedance, moderate gain (12 db or so), and dead silent. I have a Kraft amp and RG3 MK4 preamp. I did own a ARC REF3 for a while but found it lacking in bass, dynamics and it had a low level hiss that was distracting at night. In the end I gave up and resigned myself to trying the SL preamps. I have tested both the tube SL preamp and now the RG3 MK4. Both do the job. I have also heard of many state side Kraft owners having excellent results with CAT preamps. I decided not to pursue this because the CAT can have too much gain and then you hit the noise problem.

Good luck in your search.

Jay