Which Preamp Would You Choose?

I had a ModWright SWL 9.0 and put it up against a few higher priced and newer balanced ARC, Levinson, Parasound, and other preamps and the little ModWright was more enjoyable. The others were cold and didn’t have the PRaT of the SWL 9.0 regardless of being single ended. I wouldn’t let balance in/outputs make my decision but on sound alone. At the time I had an ARC 100.2 and the SE ModWright still embarrassed several balanced preamps including an ARC LS25 MK II.. Pretty sure the LS100 is not balanced whatsoever but only a XLR jack which can be done with interconnects alone. Tape loop is an issue though but you can still record but does limit some depending on how the OP is actually using the loop and with what other component. 
The SF Line 1 with proper tubes is a fine component which I know well and my opinion and only my opinion is if it sounds cold and sterile it’s possible or likely the source that’s feeding it. I always felt it is a fairly neutral preamp so it’s as they say, “blank in is blank out.” < parental edited. They don’t pop up often so there’s little to no risk to buy and if it doesn’t work it will sell easily. I had a older SF SFL-1 many years back and with the right tube, being a hybrid, that was a really nice preamp for the money and again it was way overbuilt and was leagues beyond the ARC LS7 it replaced. Forgot to mention at the time I was using Apogee Centaur speakers which do not favor sterile and cold components... great speakers by the way with the right equipment.

Try a Jeff Rowland preamp 

@zerobias...Agree with other posters about the SF 1.  I own one, and it is pretty sterile. The right tubes to make it “better “ are really expensive. My AI Mod.3 is better in every way.

zerobias,

I would not recommend an old (very old) preamp that was just ok many years ago. I personally would be leery of the whole upgraded thing. Just because you put a better part inside a preamp doesn't guarantee it will sound better. The design is such that all the parts have to work together to sound right.

There are some really good new pre's that will probably outperform the Sonic Frontiers and the Jolida and you would get a full warranty. Look at the Schiit line and also take a close look at the Supratek line, specifically the Chardonnay model. This model keeps getting better and better because they keep evolving the circuit. Many of the owner's of this preamp say it outperforms units costing 2X to 3X it's price. They are all point to point wired, he uses tube shunt regulation (which is unheard of at this price point) And tube rectification in the overbuilt power supplies.

I'm not certain what the budget is but they are calling the Chardonnay the preamp deal of the decade. It retails for $1999.00 brand new. Do either of the two used models you're looking at come with any kind of warranty and do you know how old they are? Supratek runs the tubes very conservatively and the typical tube life is 10,000.00 hours. The design is based on the 6sn7 which a lot of people think that is the best sounding tube design for a preamp. The Chardonnay comes with a lifetime transferable warranty, pretty much unheard of. Warranty is great but it's the sound quality that matters most and everything I've read about the Supratek says it's absolutely amazing. Supratek's power supplies are overbuilt so the reliability is excellent.  Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Scot 

zerobias,

I forgot to mention in my last reply that years ago I had a Sonic Frontiers pre (it's been over ten years) so I forgot which model but thought it was not only boring but also had some of the worst bass I've ever heard from a tube pre, it was very muddy and boomy. Putting in nos older tubes helped but those can be very expensive. 

Scot