vinyl is *so* much nicer than cd; i'd start here. also, if ya have decent radio station(s), why not a tuner? you'd be amazed at the sound quality of a good station on a good tuner. i fya *only* want cd, tho, why even *bother* w/a preamp? yust one more piece of gear between the cd player & amp, how could that be an improvement? re: the ar sp9-mkll, this was my only ar experience; even w/new toobs, it was unlistenable - it was so slow, it wouldn't get out of its own way. and, i was using speakers/amps whose supposedly only negative qualities are their tendency to be bright/hard/forward, etc. still, the sound was lifeless, no dynamics, dark, etc.
preamp/system help
i am recently back into hifi again. my new system (bought used from audiongon and am very happy with transactions) consists of just 2 hafler 9180s biamping NHT 2.5is being run straight off of my cal 15. having only 1k left to spend what would be my best uprade. preamp? tube? ss? there are so many in this price range. AR; sonic frontiers; morrison; vanderstine; cj; wow......help. if something else would help my system more than a preamp please let me know. i do still have my NAD 3020 that could function as a preamp. thanks!