Line Stage Preamps that blew you away $2500 Edition

2 come to mind. The second I would likely not have known about except that the Hattor dual mono passive pre with remote that I had did not come with a gain stage. I could order it, but I did not feel comfortable to do the install, so reluctantly, I sold it. BUT, I came across a Audio Alchemy DDP-1 (which has a built in DAC) for $895. It took about 4 months to track down the optional PS5 power supply $600, which was/is money well spent as it transformed it.

Prior to the Hattor, I had been using my Oppo 105 variable VC direct to amp for both CD and SACD. CDs sounded amazingly better through the AA dac, and the AA has XLR inputs, meaning CD and SACD are  switchable via the remote

Had I kept the Hattor I would have gotten a DAC which would have cost as much as the AA, so win-win for me

hth

hth

CJ Classic II

Into a Krell KST 100. Good sound but given mismatch in output/input need attenuators in front of the Krell inputs. (Recommended by a CJ tech).

Current CJ replaced an old CJ PV 10A. Interestingly, both purchased new suffered a blown tube within a couple of weeks.

Another vote for Khozmo/Hattor.  Arek's latest passive using reed relays as opposed to a stepped potentiometer is fantastic (Takman REX/AMRG resistors) .  My former passive was a Slagle/Intact audio autoformer pair (a fine sounding unit in its own right).  My last active pre was a Berning ZOTL Pre One.  I have used Berning amplifiers for the past 25 years.  

@tweak1 @palasr Yes the Hattor is very interesting. Passive and gain stage., I am very seriously considering this as well as the Denafrips Athena and Holo Serene. The Athena really excites me after reading more into it. Its a buffer with unity gain. The bummer is I'm all single ended (although my DAC is a $100 Topping so getting the same one with XLR is not a huge deal as I don't listen hard to it, its for TV and Movies).

I am probably not going the tube route as I have too much gain so a buffer stage and/or unity gain seems the way to go.

Interesting. I woulda thought  this question had previously been discussed in enough detail that there would be no need to ask the question again. But hey! That's what we all love around here, isn't it? I mean, why else would I be joining in on this excellent thread? 

You've got solid recommendations above. But I'd like to refer you to another thread. Go to the top of the amps/preamps forum. Look for the tab that says something like "popular all time". At the top of that tab you'll find the thread "Preamp Deal of the Century" which is all about Supratek preamps (which is what I ended up buying). The "budget" Supratek gets rave reviews, has for twenty years, and is right in your price range.

One other thing. Be warned. Once you get one of these preamps you'll spend a lot more time listening to music and a lot less time reading internet Fora....

Just sayin'!

Good luck and enjoy the journey.