the tough question: Which preamplifier? and why

Yes the Lightspeed is quite good if a passive will work in his system. I own one and have to agree that it is transparent without sacrificing anything in the mix. I was also under the impression that the Lightspeed was pretty much immune to impedance matching since it uses the photo optic technology.

I might also suggest that if a passive is desired then an autoformer or transformer volume control passive could be an option as well.

I, too, would be wary of your choices -- not because they are bad products but because of their "synergy" -- except for the passive. (For the latter, check your amp's specs, of course, or ask Placette directly)

BTW, why not get a used CAT pr? Plenty of dynamic content & driving energy to make yr Graaf sing.

Agree with the CAT pre but would also consider A Joule pre.

Clio,

George, the manufacturer of the Lightspeed, recommends no more than 1K Ohm output and no less than 47K Ohm input.

Frankly, I am shocked at how good this preamp is.

Fiddler, thanks I was not aware of that.