What qualities stand out in really good solid state preamps?

My gear on the Livingroom system is the following (excluding preamps):

• Yamaha NS5000 speaker (amazing)
• CODA #16
• Benchmark DAC3B
• Audience FrontRow speaker cable (amazing)
• Benchmark XLR between the preamp and amp
• Audience AU24SE XLR/ RCA interconnects for sources

The most impressive piece in the setup is the Yamaha by a massive margin. I can improve in the other gear relatively easily, Though the other gear is very good.

I would agree that the gear that the preamp is connected to is what is making this system sound good. I used to have the LA4 preamp in the mix instead of the Serene. The LA4 actually fits better in the space I have for the audio gear. However, the Serene lacks Left and Right balance which I need with the LRS+.

Switching the Serene with the LA4 did not make much of a difference in the sound. The LA4 is a bit cleaner and the Serene a bit warmer. However, those difference are minor compared to the similarities.

"palpable presence" = definitely.

I may be interested in selling my Serene to buy another LA4 or HPA4. The LA4 can be physically fit better in my audio space. Unfortunately, I tossed the Holo shipping box since I figured I would keep the preamp forever. The LA4 and Serene are inter-changeable to me.

@robshaw Thanks for that info! I will read up on the LA-4.  I am currently using a Pass X350.5 amp.

Is "refinement" a way of saying "neutrality"?

No, not really.  Some SS preamps can sound neutral but but sound sterile and not very musical.  More refined preamps still sound neutral but are more tonally balanced and sound more natural so nothing jumps out at you and you just feel like you’re listening to music rather than some version of it through a stereo system.  I guess that’s the best I can describe it.  The Ayre is a good example of the latter, which is why I mentioned it (plus there’s one available used), and my former Bryston BP6 is another although likely a little less warm sounding than the Ayre — but that’s just an educated guess.

As far as soundstage/imaging, I think in general you need to pony up more $$$ to get to a higher level there than you do with tubes.  @jc4659 is a good example in what he experienced in going from an Ayre 5xe to the considerably more expensive 1xe.  One of the things that attracted me to the BP6, and why I alluded to in your prior thread, is that it produced a large, open 3D soundstage and didn’t break the bank.  Hope this answers your questions.  

@jc4659 "2-dimensional versus 3-dimensional images" -- well said.
Good info about the the different Ayre models.

@yyzsantabarbara 
"My goal is to let the preamp produce the sound of the amp, source, and cables without adding to the mix" -- that came through very clearly in your first post, too. Got it, and the additional warmth in other equipment provides the rationale. Too much of a good thing is too much. My buddy has a lot of character in his Coincident Dragons with 300B tubes and so he wants a passive pre ahead of it. This approach makes sense.

@ghdprentice 

I'm a tube preamp lover, for sure. But as was said above, sometimes it's nice to hear what the rest of the chain is doing, minus the preamp. I like swapping gear in and out and listening for differences. I'm not converging on one preamp, amp but want the chance to keep mixing things up.

@robshaw 
Thanks for the Benchmark shout out.

@hilde45 your question is 

What attributes do you look for in a good solid state preamp?

for me it is the following - 

• tone - must be natural 
• dynamic range - must be able to sound laid back and gentle but scale up to explosive forces fast, as fast as demanded by the recording 
• low noise floor
• Texture in the bass
• warm and palpable mids
• extended and sweet highs
• nice, non-clicking silent volume control (want to be able to adjust volume without hearing any clicking or other artifacts)
• must image well and create a realistic and colorful soundstage

I don’t care for studio monitoring matter of fact in your face presentation