Need advice on a tube line stage


I'm looking to add a tube line stage to the herd. It will partner with a Bryston 4B SST2 amp through Thiel CS2.4 and GoldenEar Triton 2 loudspeakers. Primary source is a Cambridge Audio 840C CD player.

Budget is ~ $1,500 up to maybe $2,500 (but that end of the budget would probably force me to sell my current Parasound JC2).

Some options appear to be:

Trancendent Sound Grounded Grid (new $900)
Audio by Van Alstine Transcendence 9 (new 1,400)
Modwright SWL 9.0SE (mint used $1,450)
Quicksilver Remote Control Line Stage (new $1,600)
Audio by Van Alstine FET Valve CF (new $1,900)
conrad-johnson Classic 2SE (new $2,200)
Audible Illusions L3 (new $2,500 with some $ voodoo)

I would like a slightly more liquid presentation than I currently get with my current rig. More "musical". I no longer value extreme transparency as much as I did, partially because I'm no longer mixing records and don't need my system to double as a reference. That said, I don't want anything overly soft or veiled.

Thoughts?
Ag insider logo xs@2xja2austintx
Thanks. Any thoughts on the relative strengths and weaknesses of the ones I posted or the others that have been suggested?
You can't go wrong with the Quicksilver. I have all QS gear and never a glitch in 6 years!
Also, look at Eastern Electric Avant,a true giant killer that does just what you want. With NOS tubes of course.

Also has tremendous dynamic range whilst maintaining harmonic
integrity.
Your list is a good one overall IMHO. I'm about to sell my full service Quick pre (have a strong potential buyer at least) and I've loved it. IMO, it actually betters the new remote one if it's in good shape still. I may look for one of those used on the site as they are less than the new one. Have you heard the AI yet? If not, you need to. Forget reviews and just put it in the system and listen. The thing with tubed preamps is that many of them dont' match well with your SS amp. You really need to listen to them together to see if they can match. I've seen too many folks get a great pre and a great amp, but they don't match at all. You probably already know that, but some folks don't, so I thought I'd throw that out there.