Tube Curious - Preamp Suggestions

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. It sounds like the ref3 may not be what I'm looking for. With that said, in addition to checking some of the recommended pre's, I'll be auditioning the ref 5SE. It's more than I'd like to spend but from what I've read, may be exactly what I'm looking for. As I mentioned, my system is a TAD analytical. I don't want to push it too far in the opposite direction.

For those that asked about other aspects of my system, my conditioner is a PS Audio PPP, my cart is a Lyra Kleos, and my interconnects are AQ Niagara's.

Well it sounds as if you are smitten with ARC, nothing wrong with that. If it still turns out to be a bit too analytical, you could always switch to warmer cartridge and/or cables.

Or swap out the preamp further down the line... Since the amplifier is balanced I would look for a balanced preamp as well.

A lot of the Parasound amplifiers have a 33K input impedance, which is at the bottom limit of what is recommended for the ARC preamps.