hi psychic,
i am partial to melos preamps. but, if ya like buying brand-gnu, yure outta luck as they're no longer in biz. and, if yure not scared off yet, how about the fact that, after ~20 years of quality product, they finally went under cuz of poor service & quality-control at the end? still w/me? ;~)
all that said, i *still* tink ya can't beat the sound for the price, & if ya wanna splurge on their top-model, it will be competitive w/*any* linestage at *any* price. also, there's a company founded by a former melos engineer, (melos audio restorations) to service & upgrade the product, so these *can* still be fixed, if needed.
their best, most recent pre's, the ma333r & the music director, can be had for ~$1-$2k, depending on whether or not they're balanced/single-ended, and if they've been upgraded. these massive beasts have a separate power-supply as big as the main preamp, & are as good as it gets, imo. also, most have remote-control for wolume/balance. for ~$700-$1100, ewe can get the sha-gold reference, & maestro, similar to the top-line units, but no separate power-supply. these also have a world-class headfone amp, if yure into that. for <$500, ewe can find the sha-1, which is basically a simpler no-remote, only-3-input wersion of the sha-gold. older, but still excellent melos preamps, such as the ma-110 & ma-220 can be found, i believe for ~$500, or less.
good luck, doug s.
ps - i *love* salsa! ;~)
