Which Preamp Would You Choose?

zerobias,

I forgot to mention in my last reply that years ago I had a Sonic Frontiers pre (it's been over ten years) so I forgot which model but thought it was not only boring but also had some of the worst bass I've ever heard from a tube pre, it was very muddy and boomy. Putting in nos older tubes helped but those can be very expensive. 

Scot

Thanks Scott, and everyone who has taken the time to respond.  Very helpful.  I have refocused my search, and am looking at a Rogue RP-1, and maybe the Chardonnay.   

Looked at the Chardonnay, and it is a superb preamp, but the $250 shipping charge is a deal breaker, although I do understand why it is so high.  Also, although the life time transferable warranty is very compelling, the shipping costs to use the warranty quickly make it unattractive. 

I have tried a couple times to move away from my SF line 1 of which only has pertinent upgrades due to its age. Right now I have my Pass xa30.5 up and running and with only playing a cd I can assuredly say that music is not sterile or without impact. On some level I suspect that I have held onto this unit because of the full function remote and  the plethora of features of the Line1.

That being said.. I recently had a Modwright LS100 in here and definitely found my music to have more of everything and attribute that to the 6sn7 tube based LS100 and of course its topology. And I sold it.. go figure. minor issues ---huge cabinet.. would need to move the feet a bit to have it even sit on my normal size rack. I had put it on the large glass top of a Sanus rack where my TT lived and put the TT on top shelf of my main rack. Moving the feet should be quite doable due to vented slots on the bottom.

other main issue ---Volume control (blue Alps) not so great via the remote. unable to implement an incremental volume down to get the level I wanted. Could be a janky motor for the remote volume function.   In all fairness there was some intermittent issue with that function and I had talked to Modwright about it and seemed to resolve some sticking but still not able to lower or raise volume to my satisfaction using the remote.    ---esp compared to the Line 1.  
 
 Also,, although Im not positive of this because I am relying on memory hindsight. Bass was possibly a bit over done at times. I only thought of this because I read of one other complaint of this and that was after I sold mine.
btw- running Harbeths so my speakers have been excellent no matter what I have run so far.

Now, seriously considering on going for a LS100 yet again.. The sonics were obviously lush and engaging .. tube flavor ---too much?
Supratek does indeed seem to be a top consideration. The logistics of the whole thing are a bit of a put off. I had contacted Supratek re/ a used one for sale on a hifi web site and he was not particularly forthcoming on info about the older unit. Generally, I am much more inclined to buy pre owned for obvious reasons of cost. Of course then one has to consider any potential for issues with used.