Sorry OP, some folks appear to be really passionate about their passives lol.
To reiterate, I really think you can find that "just right" sound in a modern tube preamp. Tubes like 6922 (the Herron 360 uses this) and 6H30 are fantastic for this role. 6SN7 are great too but often tend to be a bit sweeter sounding. Stuff like 5687, 7044, 12BH7 and 6CG7 can be very cool too. Maybe 12AT7, 12AY7 are OK too. I’m not a fan of 12AU7 but gear that uses it can still sound decent, to a point (or maybe you can sub in 12BH7 haha).
I once owned a VAC Renaissance III that used a quad of 12AX7 plus a pair of 12AU7. In retrospect that’s an awful tube complement for a preamp, results in too much gain, and it’s really a miracle that it sounded at good as it did (Kevin is a genius at voicing gear). Their current preamps use 6922 and are wonderful. I’ve also really liked most of the preamps I’ve heard using 6H30 (ARC, Rogue). What's your budget? I'd assume in the range of the Herron phono?
And if you ever find yourself wanting to sweeten / plump up the sound of your system just a little bit, you can try a Bob’s Devices Sky SUT with your Herron in place of its JFET sage - assuming of course you’re using a low output MC that is appropriate for SUT use into 47K.
To reiterate, I really think you can find that "just right" sound in a modern tube preamp. Tubes like 6922 (the Herron 360 uses this) and 6H30 are fantastic for this role. 6SN7 are great too but often tend to be a bit sweeter sounding. Stuff like 5687, 7044, 12BH7 and 6CG7 can be very cool too. Maybe 12AT7, 12AY7 are OK too. I’m not a fan of 12AU7 but gear that uses it can still sound decent, to a point (or maybe you can sub in 12BH7 haha).
I once owned a VAC Renaissance III that used a quad of 12AX7 plus a pair of 12AU7. In retrospect that’s an awful tube complement for a preamp, results in too much gain, and it’s really a miracle that it sounded at good as it did (Kevin is a genius at voicing gear). Their current preamps use 6922 and are wonderful. I’ve also really liked most of the preamps I’ve heard using 6H30 (ARC, Rogue). What's your budget? I'd assume in the range of the Herron phono?
And if you ever find yourself wanting to sweeten / plump up the sound of your system just a little bit, you can try a Bob’s Devices Sky SUT with your Herron in place of its JFET sage - assuming of course you’re using a low output MC that is appropriate for SUT use into 47K.