Ideal preamp for Krell FPB 200

It sure looks special Blindjim!
Do you have experience with the Krell poweramp, as I did not find it in your system?

Years ago, yes. Krell was the amp in my very first system. Due to not having a good tube preamp I sold it at a considerable loss... couldn't get rid of it fast enough.

had I a good tube preamp like I do now... it may well have sstayed far longer. Might be here still for all I know.

A friend of mine has had exactly the 200 in his home a couple times and absolutely loved it.... with his former BAT vk5i preamp. I also had a vk5i preamp.

the Thor is vastly superior to the BAT vk5i.

thor not only looks, but really IS expensive too!
I am looking for something in the 1500 euro range secondhand price :)

Well, yeah, there's that. Thor even preowned can be costly, ranging from $3K to $4K. But worth every penny though. if you ever got one, you'd quit thinking about other preamps though.

Depending on the sound you want to shoot for, I've heard some CJ preamps which sell new for not much more than $1500 that I wouldn't mind owning.... at that price. new of course. I just can't get used to the switffing sound it makes as the volume increases or decreases.

VTL has some well regarded units you can get in that area.

the thing I've found is this, Keeping things comensurate with one another sure does help. Although a bit aged... your amp went new for what, 6 or 7K? Why then put a 2K or so preamp on it? it's pretty neutral and reflects what it is given... so attaching a very very good source, and as well a preamp will surely aid you sonically.

Were it me... I'd not pitch that wad into another lesser pre if it meant only waiting a few more months or so to have the funds needed to get a better one outright.

The Antique Sound Labs "Flora" got very nice reviews from the mags and people here in the personal reviews section.

Another thought is ARC or AR... I believe they offer pre's with balanced outputs... and of course there's the newer BAT pres which are truly fully balanced, front to back.

Good luck in any case.

thanks for the suggestions blindjim, I would spend 2 K on a used preamp, so it should be in the 6-7K class new...
or do you think the preamps have evolved so much that its better to simply spend 2 K new price?
The thing is that my preamps tends to sound good on the old amp... only phono stage lacking somewhat.
My idea was to buy a preamp with very good phonostage (instead of just a separate phono preamp) and hope that its linestage would be as good or better then my current preamp. and be a better match for the krell...
I did own a krell krc preamp once, and sonically it was a bit less agressive then mine, highs were softer and there was more bass, but soundstage depth and emotionality were better with my currenty preamp.
I would like to stick to well known brands here in europe as it is easier to sell them in case of a mismatch...