High end stereo preamps? Worth it?

The breakpoint where the price of a preamp can no longer be justified is probably around $2k or so.  Anything over that, you will not hear the difference :-)

Hey @cakyol , where were you 20 years ago?  If I had known about the $2K limit on preamps back then, I would have saved a lot of money!

@mitch2 +1.   I could have retired last year! 

My solution was Lyngdorf. No need for an upstream DAC. After years of SS and tube pre/power this is by far the best solution I found. My goal has always been to find the amplification system that acts like the proverbial wire with gain. Adding no sound characteristic of its own. The Lyngdorf is remarkably closer to that than any other hardware I've ever owned or auditioned. Even more remarkably, it's analog inputs are just as clean. You will hear what's upstream. If you like second order distortion, use a tube phono preamp. In fact not having to invest thousands in a DAC will allow you better upstream devices. Win-Win.

Atma sphere mp3 is interesting.

so many preamps to chose from.  A crap shoot. Most have no clue what they are buying.  Minimal info on internal build.  BLINDFAITH!!

a few preamps out there that seem to have more widespread acceptance. And overpriced of course.  

it’s all about the mix you bring to the situation. Preamp performance varies quite abit, depending on mix of components.  What a mess trying to decide.  Horrifying!! How can anyone make money selling this stuff??