Anyone own one of these preamps ?

Buellrider97–I bought the Fynes several years ago, before a sharp price increase and got bit of a deal because they were not the finish I ordered.  Not much option for tube tolling with these 6H30P tubes (actually, the Cyrillic alphabet transposed to the Roman alphabet is 6N30R).  There is only one other tube option, and it is VERY pricey—a “DR” model that goes for about $350 each.  Once I “recover” from buying the preamp and my power amp upgrades, I may consider taking a try at them.

I had the Herron for a while.  Impressive dynamics and big bass.  Inner detail buried (noise floor).  No audible hum or rush.  A nice sounding pre for the music lover.  Quick, colored and colorful.

@wlutke  thanks.    I myself have a Herron phono preamp that I’m a big fan of, but have never listened to the line preamp.  

I use the Benchmark LA4.  It is totally transparent, if your system is at all bright this is not good, but if you are looking for resolution, spatial awareness and neutrality you cannot do better.  If you want "soul" look elsewhere.

It has two RCA and two balanced XLR inputs, single RCA and XLTR out, plus a mono XLR.

Volume is controlled by relays and precision resistors.  The remote will control volume and input selection.

The reviews of this component are accurate.

A thought, in your price range, is the Cary SLP-98.

these are units that more or less intrigued him in one way or another over the past 5 or 10 years but as I said in the original post, he’ll need to determine synergies (or lack of) with the rest of his system.  

It still all comes down to what sound characteristics are most important to him and what specific improvements he’s looking for over what he has now, so again I ask what preamp is he using now and what specific improvements he’s looking for?  Frankly if he’s considering all those preamps it indicates to me he doesn’t know what he’s looking for because they’re mostly not substitutes at all as they’re so completely different.