Warm, rich but detailed SS preamp (made you give up tubes)

I was going to post Sugden also, but audioguy above beat me to it.  It's a great choice for what you are looking for.

Riviera Audio Labs is another, but at a higher price point.

(Disclosure....I'm a dealer for both Sugden and Riviera).

McIntosh c53

@noble100 

Right-- use better quality recordings, when available, and keep things out of the signal path (with fewer interconnects). Absolutely. But there are things out there which are never remastered so, I guess it depends on what one is listening to.

The Sugden is a great recommendation!

Hello hilde45,

     True, it's not always easy finding good recordings on the music one likes.  I've become a big fan of direct to hi-res digital recordings due to their very detailed and natural sounding recordings with uncompressed dynamics. 
      I wish all the major artists recorded using this method.  When you buy a hi-res digital download, you're literally getting an exact copy of the original master recording.

Later,
  Tim