Acoustat Reference Preamp.

See if he'll agree to let you try it in your system and then you'll be able to tell if it's worth it to YOU... I mean, since he's a friend and all.

Personally, if I were spending $250 on a preamp I'd buy a used B&K Pro 10. It's an excellent bang-for-the-buck unit.

I don't have an amp yet-- just an integrated. Maybe I'll bring my Snells over. Was it decent in it's time? It seems very well built and has a nice phone section.

I know the Acoustat amp had a very good reputation, but I'm really not familiar with the preamp. Based on Acoustat's reputation I would think it should be a decent sounding piece. Also check for things like heavy-duty gold-plated connectors and possibly a detachable AC cord as those items would make the preamp more desireable.

I have a couple of decent amps floating around my house that I may sell. E-mail me privately if you're interested.

I used to own an Acoustat TNP preamp, my first high-end preamp (sister piece to the TNT amp, trans-nova technology). Is this the unit you're talking about? If so, it was very good in its time, favorably reviewed by J. Gordon Holt in the early 80s, but comparatively noisy compared to current units. The phono stage was its strength, as was the case with the best preamps in the times before line stages became the main source. In any case, you might check for extra noises, when I sold mine it needed to have a number of caps replaced.