What is as tube sounding as Conrad today?


Looking to buy a tube preamp for my Class D Tripath amplifier. It boils down to (from most people) Conrad Johnson older PV series as being the most tube sounding preamp. Or some people who don’t like that sound call it dark. I surely don’t want dark as if you put blanket over your speakers but lush/warm/romantic sound is what I like. Can I buy a used preamp ($300 budget) sounds like Conrad PV line? Don’t care too much if it is from China as I had pretty good sounding stuff from China before.
celo
@shrapnel Fair question! What I mean are vibration/resonance absorbing/defeating products that your components rest on, on your rack instead of the components resting on their own feet. It is one of my favorite tweaks to play around with. I’ve got a bunch of Black Diamond Racing cones and pucks most of which are in the closet as I have found them to impart a "glare" to the sound. Like many enthusiasts, I’ve tried sorbothane sheets and pucks as well. They have sort of an opposite effect on the music as they "dull" the sound and rob it of dynamic swing.

What I’ve found to be best in my system and set-up are Herbie’s Audio Labs Tenderfeet, both regular and firm versions. The regular Tenderfeet are good for taming an amusical brightness to the sound without robbing it of its life. The Firm Tenderfeet are better under "warmer" sounding pieces of gear.

I also mix and match the Firm and Regular Tenderfeet to get just the right sonic balance. I would be willing to bet your cj gear would like the Firm Tenderfeet. I will include a link to Herbie’s site. I would encourage you to email or call Steve and Robert Herbelin, the proprietors of Herbie’s. They will advise you based on your system and listening preferences. I’ve corresponded with them many times to great affect. They will not just try to sell you their most expensive products. They want you to be satisfied with their products and consider them for your future needs.

http://herbiesaudiolab.net/compfeet.htm

Hope this is helpful.
@shrapnel  Sorry.  I forgot to mention that their Tenderfeet are very reasonably priced for what they can do to your listening enjoyment.
Anything that uses valves can be warmed up, or made more, "romantic", by installing genuine, NOS, British flavored tubes(ie: Mullard, Brimar, Genelex, Ediswan).