Which has greatest influence?

An old duffer who turned 90 or finally hit 90? More likely the latter I think. :-)

I do believe you could improve your systems sonics with a different pre-amp.

I use the PL3 with a PL5 and combined they are excellent lacking only a little bit of ultimate resolution and deep bass power. BUT, seperately, the PL5 is deficient in the bass when driven by other pre-amps I've tried, and the PL3 is somewhat dark and closed in with the other amps I've matched it to, including tube amps with a high input impedence (I assume yours is 100K, not 100, and a technical impedence match would not be a problem).

Now what pre-amp and how much money you might want to chase after it is another thing, but you should try some out. You might try out one of CJ's pre-amps that compliment your amp.

Hope that helps a bit.

Thanks Newbee. No - had ny 90th in July. Tell me, when you go to matching pre amp to amp what are you matching? Are there som specifics to look for? Jacnorth1178

I have read all the above responses and I believe all pieces in your system are important. Proper line conditing is just important & will make your system sing.
I have heard your amp and I own a CJ preamp, a CT5 would be a great match.

Jack, what you are 'matching' for the most part is pre-amp out put impedence (low is good) and amp input impedence (high is good). Too high an output impedence from the pre-amp and too low an input impedence in an amp is not so good, it will roll off frequency extension, highs and lows mostly noticible in the lows. The other thing you want to consider, and involves speaker efficiency is the amount of gain from the pre-amp, this input sensitivity of the amp, and the speaker efficiency. You don't need (or want) a lot of gain from a pre-amp if you have an amp which has high sensitivity (a low(er) number) and or speakers that have high efficency. Its all a balancing thing and your dealer should be able to help you to get the 'numbers' all lined up.

Apart from that the only other thing to consider, and actually the most difficult for lots of folks, is tonal synergy through out the system and making sure that the clarity/resolution levels in your other components are not impeded by the sonics of the pre-amp you have chosen.

The good news though the sonics of the pre-amp are, or at least should be, the least problematic in setting up a system in the first place, and less difficult to introduce to an existing system.

I hope that helps you some.