where to go from here..,,

So any other suggestions? I wouldn't believe the Parasound is the only option, especially after the last few posts:)

I'm sure this is probably a stupid question, but do I need to concern myself with impedance specs on a prospective new pre-amp? My power amp has a specification of 22kOhms input impedance....what does that mean, and does it matter

Some tube preamps won't like that, for example ARC. But some tube preamps are fine with that. So you do have to look into it when you look at preamps.

10X rule is the MINIMUM for impedance matching.

Most power amps designed to work well with tube pre-amps in general have input impedance of 60Kohm or higher, to be safe.

That is an insurance policy for good results with most any tube preamp. PRe-amp output impedance can vary widely with frequency and generalized specs may not indicate actual output impedance at particular frequencies.

So my rule of thumb for a good insurance policy is to avoid using a tube pre-amp with power amps with input impedance specs less than 60000Kohm.

That's not to say there will not be cases that might still work well and sound fine, but it can be hard to determine for certain, so better to just play it safe.

In general I would hesitate to use a tube preamp with an amp rated 22kohms input impedance, unless known for certain to have particularly low output impedance at all frequencies for a tube preamp. Less than optimal impedance matching will limit dynamics and add distortion. Might still sound OK, just not optimal.

Ok thanks. So for now I shoulld limit my looking to SS, which is fine, and Parasound is my only recommendation so far from here. Given that I won't be able to duplicate my home setup at any store, I'm likely to buy based on recommendations and research rather than auitions, and hope for a good match or good return policy.
Are there any guidelines for ghow long a new SS piece might take to burn in, assuming that would be a factor for a pre-amp?