Well, I tried out my Berning preamp with an Audio Research solid state amp at a Dealer recently, using Dynaudio Focus speakers. The sound was clean, but too forrward and veering on brightness for my taste. I then took the amp home for further listening thru my Proac Studio 200s and the system SANG like I could not believe. The Berning and ARC combo was way better than at the Dealer's; with a spacious and intoxicating air to it. I then started experimenting and swapped out for some silver cables, and half the magic dissapeared!
All this to say, everything is really system dependent. Proac and Audio Research in particular, are still a natural match. Also,to me it seems, one should use the smoothest and most refined cables you can afford...