Hey Jman,
To me I would add a Blue Circle BC3 to your list...maybe an BC3000 version 1...
The Joule (I have a LA150 gen1 here, with the 6c45/6h30 circuit which is the most detailed and neutral of the LA150 gen1 or gen2 preamps I have listened to here, as the gen2 LA150 uses the 6350 tubes to great effect, warming things up a bit, softening the edges a hair - giving everything a little more "wet" presentation...) Anyway, the Joule doesn't really tighten the bass here, if anything it really fleshes it out, from the midbass on down...Big Bottom! But if you are looking to tighten things up, the Joule might not be it. As I hear it, tightening things up means to help clear it up, maybe less bass just more detailed too; which the Joule tends to fill it out more...
I moved from a BC3 Galatea to the Joule to bring the bass out more here. Flesh it out. The BC has great clean bass, and soundstages DEEP into the Bass, but it doesn't add anything. Great Mids!, superb layering and depth with seperation in the stage. Not as wide a stage as the Joule, but better depth... But the Joule adds and fills out the midbass and deep bass here. loosened it up a bit if anything. (which is what I was looking for with my Merlin VSM MXe speakers...). And Gilbert @ Blue Circle has/uses Wadia sources in his test systems. Its worth a Listen, esp as TG and BC play VERY nice together!
