Researching Preamps

A  McIntosh C22 Vacuum Tube Preamplifier should be a good match with your Mac monoblocks.

Vac

I picked up a Parasound JC3+ and am really happy with the sound.  I am using Constellation amp and line-stage.  I wanted a good quality phono preamp and was looking at Constellation.   While researching the history of the design I discovered that John Curl designed the Constellation phono stage.  He also designed the JC3+.  I am not saying the Parasound is necessarily as good as the Constellation pre, however, based on the cost delta I am very pleased with the sound and flexibility of the unit.  So far, very natural sound and it plays well with my other components.

Keep the QS and add a good phono preamp. If you must have a preamp with a phono section then check out Rogue Audio ,all of their preamps include phono.

In my studied opinion, the combination of a Herron VTPH-2 and a Herron VTSP-3a(r03) is in a league by itself. The combo is around $10k but the units can be purchased separately. There will be a big increase in performance with the addition of either. I firmly believe adding both will provide the best level of performance available for digital and analog (especially vinyl) without regard to cost. I have not heard better any any price.

So do your research. Compare, listen. Don’t trust my comments or any others. Choose what you think works best for you. I did and chose the Herron components.