Sleeper preamps: $500 new/used

Onkyo P-308

  one of the best preamps out there. 
great phono, great features, no crosstalk,

dead quiet, still looks amazing!

sound is warm to neutral, 

best pre for the money you,can get 

Lots of good choices.   I’ll add the Sonic Frontiers SFL-1.    I picked one up for $500 as a back up and it’s been in my system for a few months as I await my DHT preamp that is being built 

Prob get a Jolida Tube Preamp for around that. Really good. Not the quietest but really fruity and awesome! 

The best sounding cheap preamp you can buy is the Chinese copy of FM Acoustic 155 preamp I believe the patents on that design have expired so anybody can copy them and the Weiliang/Breeze Audio copies are very close to the real thing which cost around $20,000.Except they are more like $300.Very natural,open and 3D sounding but also very high resolution without sounding sterile.Exactly how good preamps should sound but most don't.

For $500 or $600 the MFA or Audible Illusion if you can find one is a nice choice. I had a Bruce Moore Companion long ago and for the money was very nine 6922 preamp.