I agree again that a BAT pre would be better then most other for similar money. I used an Accuphase DC-300 pre going to my VK-60, I tried both balanced and single ended out into the VK-60(using those little adaptors that plug into the back of the amp XLR's) I found that as long as a product is truly balanced(ala BAT, some Accuphase-mine was balanced) it sounds better balanced. The BAT web page covers this in there FAQ section I believe check it out www.balanced.com
~Tim
~Tim