Line Stage Preamps that blew you away $2500 Edition

Patience will definitely pay off. When I was searching for my endgame preamp,it seemed the $2500-$3500 price point was loaded with great gear. 

+2 laaudionut. Aric Audio. 

I think there have been many excellent suggestions. I don’t believe any of which would be a bad choice. Tubes every 6 months? That can’t be normal,can it?  Maybe have a tech take a peek under the hood. I’ve been running tube preamps for about 7 or 8 years now,and only had 1 tube failure.  

I have a passive pre that I pop in occasionally. It’s an older Promtheus Audio TVC. I’ve used it with a few different amps,and I never felt the sound to be thin. Before I made that purchase,I bought a Schiit audio SYS. Within a very short period,I knew this would work for me,and began my search for the Promitheus.  I’m currently running tube preamps in my systems. I really enjoy the tube flavor. However, I can’t see myself letting the passive go.  Sometimes,I just like different.