Trying out a tube preamp

Wow! Such a great response. I'll be up late tonight researching these pieces. Thanks very much.

Jgiacalo: I've actually heard the Rogue 99 Mag. That's what started me off with this idea for a change. Great suggestion.

Imin2u: I've also heard the Audible Illusions 3A. What a wonderful piece, and a great value.

I had BP25 preamp and 7BST monoblocks for three years. On a similar quest I auditioned a conrad johnson premier 17 preamp in the system. This really changed the sound considerably and I wished I could have had that preamp in the system for a longer period of time to really get into the sound of it. As I remember there was a sense of heightened sweetness to the sound with more detail and 3 dimensional imaging. Overall, the presentation was softened a bit relative to the BP25 but not in a negative way. Extension top and bottom was just as good but again different, bass was looser and highs were soft not sharp. You'd have to do this experiment for yourself. In the end opted for an preamp and amp upgrade that went the Krell route, but that's anothers story. The upshot is that I listen to my second system most of the time now, the heart of which is a cj CAV 50 tube integrated.

If you are willing to spend up to $5k there are lots of great no-miss pre-amps available. BAT, CAT, VAC, First Sound, Joule Electra, CJ, ARC. Come to mind. Supratek also. For line stage only, I would think that VAC Rennaissance, Supratek, Joule and First Sound would be where I would start. I had a CAT and found that it was too "high gain" and iwth the stepped attenuator, it was a problem getting the volume right.

Swampwalker's response says it all: YMMV. I have a CAT right now (Ultimate), and I love it. It's a great preamp, very engaging, but a bit low gain. I have the gain up pretty high. It's both natural sounding and toe tapping sounding. It really exceeded my Modulus 3a, by a mile. But that wasn't the most recent M3a. It did have the stepped attenuators (more recent than old), but according to AI the most recent ones are much more dynamic. So, if you go that route, make sure you know what you're buying. Nevertheless, a used CAT Ultimate is under your max budget. It is very dynamic, which was good to offset the non dynamism of my Quad 988's.

Lets not overlook the Aesthetix Calypso preamp. It performs at a lofty level considering its price. Very well made of premium components and has a dynamic and lively sound while being extremely neutral for a tube preamp. Best if all your equipment is balanced.