best preamp for a MC-252 for under $1500

Ok, well you are new indeed. Here is the quick rundown on my answers for you: THD doesn't mean much (I am an electrical engineer). Tubes do indeed produce more distortion than transistors but your ears hear it differently. McIntosh makes some great preamps with their customary 0.005% THD and you won't ever have any tube hassles - but you will have to buy used though as new Mc preamps are way more than $1500. I would suggest the C41 but it doesn't come up for sale often.

Tubes are really cool. I used to only like transistors but now I have warmed up to tubes and have 2/3 of my system using them. If you have the desire to do a little homework on the subject, I would highly recommend a tube preamp in your future. Knowing what speakers you have would make it easier to be more specific as to models. Also, do you know what type of sound you like i.e., warm and involving or cool and analytical? Arthur

Yes, I agree with the post above - get new speakers first. If you like highs but not harshness (you chose a great amp for this), I would suggest you try JM Lab speakers. They have some for all budgets and McIntosh amps complement them VERY well. Thiels are also a good choice.

Once you have speakers nailed down, a preamp should (IMO) improve the dynmaics significantly. I have yet to find a Mc amp that likes to be run directly - unless your cdp has tons of gain which I doubt it does.

Let us know what you find that works for you. Good luck and have fun! Arthur

Don't get hung up on the power requirements for speakers. The 100W-150W numbers don't really mean anything as long as your amp doesn't clip - which your won't (power guards keep it from ever happening).

The flagship JM Lab and Thiel speakers can get very VERY expensive so you may want to consider some of their lesser modesl that are actually higher value. Arthur