Looking for an incredibly dynamic preamplifier

And now for something completely different...

I tried many preamps including the First Sound Presence Deluxe Mk II & the CAT Ultimate. Both are excellent pieces, although I would give the FS the advantage in dynamics. In my system, with the Herron M150 amps, the FS had very deep and powerful, tuneful bass, at least the equal of the CAT. (Mine had stock tubes.) The CAT was a bit "sweeter", the FS was more transparent.

In the end I chose the Herron VTSP-1 with no regrets - it is simply the most dynamic, natural and musical preamp I've tried in my system. Paired with the Herron monos it sounds like live "music" in the room with me.

I would highly recommend auditioning Keith Herron's new VTSP-2 (tubed) or his solid state model.

http://www.herronaudio.com

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions so far. Sorry about the poor description of spatial relationships and how music travels but that's the best I can do. I like Jonathan Valin's term, "action."
"Music in the room" would have probably sufficed. Having said that, I only heard "music in the room" in two rooms at this summer's NY home entertainment show. IMO the vast majority of systems, regardless of price, don't pull this off. Mine doesn't (yet).

I'll agree with Rackon, I have a Herron VTSP-1A and it is every bit as dynamic and neutral as a tubed preamp could be. I've paired it with a Graaf 5050 tube amp and my system is very dynamic, detailed, and neutral with solid, deep, and tight bass. Plus they're a couple on here right now for under $2K, a screaming deal at those prices!

Exlibris:

Thanks. Here is my attempt to answer your very difficult questions:

Does your First Sound linestage have excellent high frequency extension?

Yes, excellent high frequency extension with no rolloff that I can determine at the high end.

Does it "energize" your whole listening room and regularly project images well in front of the speaker plane when the recording calls for it?

It does energize the room and it delivers a very close, intimate soundstage. Everything is well-focused, but female vocals really stand out in my system, particularly with the right tubes and matching equipment. If I understand what "energize the room" means, this would be enhanced by transparency, image focus and dynamics, all of which the F.S. has a whole lot of. I would say image focus is somewhat dependent on the recording and which tubes you are using. Some tubes give a high degree of image focus and others are great for dynamics in the F.S.

When images "speak" does their voice have good "action", in other words, does their voice project from the image and wash over the listener? What I'm getting at is: Are you the listener "inside" the music or are you left "watching" the music as if watching ghosts in another dimension behind an invisible, yet impenitrable plane?

This is a tough question to answer. You should be a poet or a novelist, because your imagery is pretty graphic. I am not sure that I experience music in the way that you do, but I would say that unequivocally the F.S. brings me closest to the music in its immediacy and "aliveness" than other preamps which I have heard. I don't experience the music by being inside it, but on the best recordings, I hear a broad soundstage with vocalist and musical instruments each in their own well-defined space within that soundstage. With the First Sound, on the best recordings, the vocalist is projected a couple of feet in front of the other musicians. Vocals and brass, in paricular, have a "you are there" quality on the best recordings. As I sit 8-9 feet away fron the speakers, I experience the vocalist at the five to six feet away point, so it's all a very close-up, intimate presentation. This is not a rich, ambient, reverberant sounding piece of equipment. It is spectacular in what is revealed at close quarters with music and musicians, whether the music is subtle and reserved or spectacular and dynamic. That is the best that I can describe it.

Please check my other posts on preamps and the First Sound if you want other comments on the F.S.

Does anybody have a Wyetech Opal and live in NYC?

Rayhall,
Thanks for answering my questions. You've given me a much better idea of what to expect from First Sound equipment. If you do get to hear an Opal I'd like to hear your thoughts on it.
I plan on listening to an Aesthetix Callisto Signature in my system in the near future. Unlike the FS, I have a feeling that this preamp may be closer to being "a rich, ambient, reverberant sounding piece of equipment." By the way, have you ever heard a CTC Blowtorch?