Well, I decided to get an Audio Illusion M 3A

Does the AI still provide 30dB of gain in both phono and line stages? For some people, that's too much line and not enough phono. I have a Modulus 2 modified by Ric Schultz of EVS. Ric worked for Art for awhile.

Congratulations!  I owned an original Modulus 3 for 12 years, bought a Modulus 3A to go in my secondary system, then replaced the Modulus 3 in the main system with the Modulus 3B.  They are all very musical preamps.  I no longer own them as I moved on to McIntosh.  I did find the stepped volume controls on the 3A and 3B to be kind of useless because of such a high gain.  Couldn’t get the volume to be just right.  In my system, I was only using 1/4th of the volume control because of the high gain.  The best tubes for that preamp are the Sovtek 6H23NEB tubes and are the only ones Art Ferris now recommends for the preamp. I bought matched sets from The Tube Store with excellent results.  Those tubes should last 3 years or so.  Do NOT make the mistake of buying NOS tubes because they will be toast within a year.  

You might want to reach out to Johnny Rutan at the Audio Connection in NJ. I remember he used to get pretty good results with the AI pre and a Belles amplifier with Vandersteen's. I don't remember which one but he really knows how to make Vandersteen speakers sing. He also used the AI with Quicksilver tube amps but you said you wanted to try SS so the Quickies are out. Good Luck!