Need help chosing a preamp

I would think a good place to start would be a Luxman preamp would be a good place to start.

The Nagra HD preamp is a next level piece of equipment in both sound and price.

I haven't heard it compared to the Luxman, but I have heard it compared to the Nagra Classic pre. It was clearly, as you would expect, superior to the Nagra Classic pre.

Erik

I agree with you that the magic more in the preamp and Dac. I own and absolutely enjoy Nagra tube Dac, I’m wondering which would be the optimal path. Looking for organic live sound peeking on the warm side of neutral. 

In terms of sound quality the better part of a Luxman combination IMHO is the preamp, not the amp.  Not saying the amp isn't great, but that the liquid midrange and extended bass and treble is from the preamp.

If you have not already bought the Nagra DAC I would look at the Playback Designs DAC because Nagra uses the Playback Designs modules for their DAC. PBD does not give them their best modules.

The Luxman m900u and c900u were great together. Though I found the c900u too warm for me for long-term use.

Consider use of other equipment as well as the DAC, and eventual resale, I’d go with matching Luxman pieces, UNLESS the Luxman was lacking a feature I wanted.

Luxman preamp and amp combo. It should work fine with the Nagra DAC.