Preamps better than Parasound JC-2 ?

I disagree on the Audio Horizons. I heard this against a 30 year old Counterpoint SA-5 last year and the Counterpoint tore the AH to pieces in portraying space and harmonic overtones. It's very very rare that I hear a tube line stage or preamp sound as flat as the AH. In the $2-3K range, there are many many options and the AH would not be on my list.

JC-2 is now in house. Did a brief comparing this morning. I am somehow feeling that my TVC is more transparent than the JC-2. The JC-2 seemed "louder" and I cannot go past 9 O'clock position for my normal listening position. At that position, it is already loud.
Honestly, I am finding it a bit difficult to "like" the JC-2. I had very high hopes for sound improvements. What would you specifically look for when comparing pre-amps? I used the following CDs for comparison:

Eva Cassidy - Live At Blues Alley - Fields of Gold
Norah Jones - Come Away With Me
Big Joe Mahar - Got My Mojo Working
Cassandra Wilson - Lover Come Back to Me & The Very Thought of You

I will continue to listen and compare the pre-amps again tonight, before returning it to the shop tomorrow.

"Honestly, I am finding it a bit difficult to "like" the JC-2. I had very high hopes for sound improvements. What would you specifically look for when comparing pre-amps?"

That's why you need a really good line stage if you want better sound than your passive. One thing you need to do before making a final decision on the JC-2 is leave it on for a while. I've seen many times where SS gear benefits greatly from letting it warm up for a day or so. If you leave it on from now until tomorrow, it should sound better. I still don't think you'll keep it, but you never know. If you want to try a different active, I still recommend the Ayre K5. There's a good chance you may like it better than your passive.

"The JC-2 seemed "louder" and I cannot go past 9 O'clock position for my normal listening position."

That's normal. A passive preamp doesn't have an amp. An active one does.

Just as a fyi, this is a JC-2 BP. After your suggestion, I kept the unit warmed up for several hours and did some critical listening again. I did find that the dynamics were a tad bit sharper than my TVC - but I am really "trying" very hard to find the differences. In fact I called in my wife for 2 songs and after patiently listening to those songs her comments were the same - the JC-2 is slightly "sharper" than the TVC. But this could also have been that the JC-2 was set to higher volume level. The concern is it's volume starts at 7 O'clock position and I cannot go beyond 9 O'clock.
I will keep the unit on for the whole night and see if that makes a difference. I am not sure if that extra circuit for the "BP" in the JC-2 is making it sound different than what the reviews for the standard JC-2 says. On this forum as well as audioasylum, there are folks who swear by active line stage and would never go passive. I was under the impression that when the JC-2 would be introduced in my system, it would really show all those deficiencies of a "passive" line stage.
When I moved from the power amp section of a NAD integrated to my A21, it did not take me more than 2 mins to hear the difference. Same thing when I moved to the TVC from the same integrated amp's preamp section - this was much more prominent. And here I am struggling to find improvements by the $4795 JC-2 BP over my $1675 TVC.

A box upgrade should sound immediately better to your ears, at least in a demo situation with a broken-in unit. If not, keep what you have. I define "better" as allowing you to enjoy the music more and the system less, if that's possible. You should just want to sit down and listen, as opposed to getting up and screwing around with something. IMO, that's how you know something's "better".