thielist...thinking about it again, I highly recommend that you decide on one component at a time. There's no need to decide on a preamp now or anything else for that matter. We all hear differently and enjoy a different sound since recreating the original event is impossible, go for the sound that you like. I see this clearly amongst my group of audiophile friends, we all have invested quite a bit in our system and they all sound different. Once you have decided on an amp, you will have a better idea of what flavor you want more of. If the system is dark add a fast solid state pre, if it's too analytical add a warm tube pre, after that you can fine tune more by tube rolling and with cables to achieve the sound you want. Recommendations and reviews can only give an idea of what a component sounds like, your room will play a major role in the outcome, so focus on one piece at a time, you'll be happier at the end.