JADIS DEFY7, can not get it to sing


Hi
I hope some of you old pros can help answer my,,well lets say help me figure out how to get my Jadis defy 7 to sing. I purchased the amp used (like new, as the seller had a  Jadis JA200 mono blocks laready and the Defy sat quiet, So I bought it in 2008. Months later i purchased a  MINGDA tube pre amp, sounded AWEFUL, Not even close to my jadis Orch reference, KT90's EI tubes, that intergrtaed was really all I needed, i made a  huge costly mistake selling and buying the  DEFY 7, I do believe that w/o a  powerful pre, to DRIVE the FQ's into the Defy, the Defy will not respo9nd. 
The sound is flat, lifeless, no dynamics, The Orch Refer had HUGE sound stage, bass, GORGEOUS life like mids, nice sweet highs. 
I wanted more and bought the Defy,. 
I just had the Defy cked in Baton Rouge, had the KT90's brand new EH tuibes biased . 
I have a  ONKYO preamp arriving next week and am about to buy a  Mitshibushi Pre amp, 
I have a  LITE LS9 , chinese tube preamp, and that pre sounds like the,,no worse than the heftier Ming Da. 
This Lite LS9 is suppose to be a copy of the Jadis 200 pre, It weighs only 7 lbs, the trans is light weight.
I get  the idea the jadis Defy needs a  great hefty powerful prem, which is what folks told me back when i bought it, I did not believe them. 

I am low on  cash and will list the Defy for $3500 and i will pay shipping. 
I will then wait fora  great used Jadis intergrated, say a  DA50.

But I 1st want to try the 2 solid state pres to see if i can get the Defy to wake up.
It I can get some better respose , i may keep it and look for a  good used Audio reserach or a  macnintosh.
I do not have $6K for a jadis pre used. 
My budget is $1K
any help is greatly appreacitaed.
I have the uncredibly  SEAS Thor MTM speakser along with the CAYIN tube cd player with upgraded opamps .
As I say I am very close to selling the hge, hardly used (Like New) amp, due to my doubts that I can get the amp to respond like its tiny brother , The Orch Reference. 
btw I am the one who coined the tag *shootout* wayyyy back in 2000, or 2001 
I stared a  thread of speaker shootouts,,,and based on that long thread, i bought the SEAS THor kits. 
I now see *shoot out* is now the common tag for speaker and stereo components comparison.
My old login was Bartokfan.
Look forward to any suggestions in my dilemma.
paul
new orleans
mozartfan
You are wasting your time with those cheap solid state preamps.  That Jadis amp was very expensive back in its day. at least 20 years ago.  You need a good tube preamp, and no cheap preamp will make your Jadis sound any better.  The Mitsubishi is cheap mid fi as is the Onkyo.  You set yourself up for failure the way you went about this.  
I had a Defy 7. One of the better tube amps I owned, or borrowed. Extremely high input impedance ( around 500 K ). Sounded great with matching Jadis preamp. There are straps under the chassis to get a good match between it and the speakers it is driving. A very complex amplifier. It went through several revisions, as I knew the importer, and got the scoop. My opinion : Sell the Defy, as you will not get it to do what it is capable of doing. I 2nd stereo5, as you are wasting your time and money on those preamps. As far as you coining the phrase " shoot out " in 2000, I, and my audio buddies and partners, have been doing shoot outs, and using the term, since the late 60s. So, I am sorry to burst your bubble. Maybe you can become " coined ", as being the 1st individual, to use a cheap solid state preamp, with a Jadis Defy 7 ( I am sorry, I had to ). Enjoy ! MrD.
Post removed 
OK GOT IT. I do recall, either the seller of some Augonners mentioning , that the Jadis will need a  great preamp, maybe a  jadis as 1st choice, 
Well I do not have $6K++ fora  used jadis pre.
I am going to sell it, It sat quiet  for the seller, as he had a  Jadis JA 200 mono blocks. I did not use it, as the 2 cheap chinese  tube amps do nothing for this amp.
I am going ss intergrated until i can get some cash together fora  used Jadis intergrated, like the DA50.
Thanks for the honest fair and for real answers to my problem. 
I plan to sell it as $3500 and I will pay shipping.
Audiongon and Ebay.
1st I will call the Jadis dealer in california, maybe they know someone willing to make a  swap for a  Jadis intergrated.

sic
read
I recall when i 1st purchased the amp both the seller and some AUDIOgon-ERS mentioned/suggested to me, that the Defy will require a  class A powerful preamp to make the amp work. I did not fully believe and hoped i could work around that issue, I was wrong and this error will cost me.
Thanks to the honest replies that I should sell the amp.
Paul
New Orleans