Whats the ultimate goal with your pre amp ?

Going to buy my second LA-4 next week. Can't say enough good things about it. Rory at Benchmark is great to deal with and talk to.  How can you argue with a 30 trial period, 5 year warranty, made in USA (NY)   The people that want to spend a fortune for another name need to see the LA-4, a real education. 

My preference for a preamp is both sound and function.

For the function I like / require at least 2 balanced inputs. 

For sound I prefer a class A operation with 6SN7 tube complements and a tube rectifier.  I also like lots of dynamics and drive.  I have never heard a solid state preamp that can project such a large and deep sound stage.  

With the right tubes and rectifiers coloration is minimal and refinement is high. 

@krelldog Thanks for starting this discussion as I'm also looking into the role of a pre-amp in my system. We have the same amp. For now, I'm using the "straight wire with gain" approach. My DAC sounded great connected directly to the amp, but that left me with having to change out cables to use my turntable (my phono preamp has adjustable gain so it could also be connected directly via unbalanced inputs to the amp). The Topping pre90 was eminently affordable, described in several reviews as not affecting source sound, and allowed the use of my turntable. Uncertain re it being a permanent solution, but certainly makes for an enjoyable system as is. My thinking is to look at tube preamps for providing a different, maybe better, flavor to the sound. Uploaded photos to update my virtual system.