Preamp for Magnepan

which tube preamps do you recommend?

Go tubed pre.

What is your budget?

Audio Reasearch is what I have heard on them.

Maggie's always seem to be paired with AR stuff, but that's when both the pre and the amp are AR. If you're going with a SS amp (especially if it is a Bryston, which can be pretty dry) then I would suggest a pre that adds a more spacious (tubey) presentation that the AR's.

They where hardly ever mated with the AR amps. Bryston 95% of the time I went in there.

tubed preamp: i like the spaciousness + quiet + phonostage of my mfa magus a-2. (it's for sale but if unsold i'll continue using it in my main setup another 20 years. i don't feel compelled to buy anything new, just testing the waters. it replaced a noisy c-j i had had 11 years.