Nsgarch.....as you can see, I'm stedily creeping up the high end ladder....so yes I am going to get a pair of Pass X-600's to see how much they eclipse the four bi-amped Carver monoblocks in power, control and sonic purity.
If they don't eclipse the Carvers by a mile, I'll sell the Pass monos for what I paid for them. I can always use the Carvers for my home theater setup.
The best solid state preamp I've had was the Audio Research LS-10. When it was good..it was awesome. But on some recordings, it was missing a lot of information on music that I was very familiar with and that was very unsatisfying and it just annoyed the hell out of me to listen to a piece of music and it all wasn't there. Half of my recordings sounded awful on it.
I have $5k in my budget to try a used solid state pre to compare to the Ref 2. I'm not selling my Ref2 just yet. I want to compare it to a solid state unit in its price range to see if I like it.
The Ref2 has been excellent across the board, but I have never heard it compared to a solid state unit in its price range.....I just might like it better. Nor have I heard the Ref2 with amps higher up the food chain...like the Pass monos. Audiogon gives me the luxury to audition stuff and not get hurt too bad when I need to sell it if I decide not to keep it.
No offense taken about the Signal Cables, I know they can be improved upon. With a limited budget, my first priority has been with the preamp, now amps, then cables.
I'm never offended by the stuff I have....I go as far as my budget takes with me and I have to be content. But, I do keep meticulous notes of suggestions like yours, ...so when I get the dough and it's time to upgrade, I can refer to suggestions like yours when making my decision. So, thank you sir. I appreciate your comments and suggestions.