Dev,
Here are a couple of my observations.
Preamp: I owned the LA150-mk2. I've owned and found the CJ 16 LS-2, CAT Ultimate 2, the First Sound Statement and the Thor Cadence to all have more detail, more robust build quality and have faster and cleaner transients and be more transparent. The Joule preamp did some nice things with warm timber and big soundstage. It was very nice for female vocals. But, I preferred the foregoing preamps for all being more linear and lifelike. I also found the chassis and machining of the foregoing preamps to include such things as CNC milled hardware and cleanly laid out circuitry. I found the Joule to use lesser quality parts.
In my opinion, Joule makes some nice sounding gear. I've heard it with verity speakers and really really enjoyed the sound. But, to say its build quality is in the likes of Dehavilland, CAT, Wavac, First Sound, Thor, Audio Note, etc. is not consistent with my experience. Mundorfs don't cost that much money.
IMHO. YMMV. Jeff