Good preamp with Merlin TSM speakers?

Would love to get a Joule Electra... but $3k+!

You can get a J-E preamp for much less than $3K, as brf mentions.
Be patient, I see them pop up once a month or so.
Also, as brf mentions,  Rich Brkich of Signature Sound is a great contact for J-E.

Thanks for the tip! I'll keep my eyes peeled.
"Far less"...being what?

Let Google work for you. Hifishark is a good website, as it searches various websites.
Looking there now I see a LA-100 mk III listed for $1,600 and a LA-150 mk II listed for $3,450.
Here, take a look: https://www.hifishark.com/search?q=Joule+Electra

You can also click on Sold/Expired listings to get a handle on what the price should be. I would bet that $2,500 would get you that LA-150 mk II if you wanted it.
You could probably pick up the LA-100 mk III for $1,250 or so.
It’s not easy selling products from a defunct company.

Merlin and Joule are a match made in heaven.  There's a reason Merlin is always shown with Joule gear.  It's THAT good together!

Joule is out of business, but the topology in the 150 is nothing exotic. I had the 100 for a couple of years, and my tech had no problem working on it. It was a nice pre. Smooth and detailed