Preamp with most dynamic contrast?

Well that's a question that invites the invariable answer: "mine" (i.e. my preamp):)

FWIW, I've liked the dynamics with a Goldmund 7(old model, within yr price range used) and CAT Ultimate (again an older used model would be within yr price range).

I have used both these pres to drive ss and tube (OTL) amps.
Another pre that I never owned but used for a while was the "big" Spectral of ~10 yrs ago. Again, excellent dynamics.
Cheers

Assuming that you are talking used prices, I would highly recommend a BAT VK-51SE. You should be able to get one for less than $5000 fairly easily. Very dynamic, with more slam than any SS preamp I've had in my system (Coda, Threshold, Krell, Levinson).

John

Bruno, I would highly recommend you audition a Placette dual mono active linestage. It is one of the great bargains in high end audio for two reasons: 1) It offers beautiful sonics, that sound like what you are looking for, and competes with reference pre-amps that cost upwards of $15000.00. I auditioned seven highly regarded pre-amps, solid state/tube, and finally chose the Placette to replace my highly regarded ML reference 32, that cost $10000.00 more then the Placette. 2) Since, Guy Hammel, the owner/designer only sells direct, his pre-amp costs $4500.00, thousands less because their is no retail markup. Guy's a great gentleman and you get a 30 day audition period to make your decision. I hope you would consider putting the Placette active linestage on your audition list.

Before you switch out your pre-amp, try a Musical Fidelity tube buffer stage X-10v3 between the CD player and the Pre-amp. This will eliminate "loading" while allowing maximum transfer between the two components. I recently purchased one and am extremely pleased with the results. You can purchase from Underwood HiFi for 375.00 shipped and return if not satisfied. I believe the X-10v3 will allow more dynamic contrasts in your system AND help give you some of that tube sound you crave.

John

Dear Bruno,
The new transformer based preamps are very good in this regard, and offer very high value, especially when compared to the "High End" as represented by the print media. There is a preponderance of cheap volume controls out there even in the "best" preamps, little plastic pieces that wholesale for less than $10.00!
You might save a lot of money that can be used to buy some music...
I recently acquired a passive Slage-King autoformer based pre and am very happy with it. It replaced a $1K custom pre I had made, at about half the cost. It has one input, one output, as in applying the K.I.S.S. principle.
I do most of my listening in the wee hours, and lack of detail, especially microdynamics, would completely invalidate the use of anything that wasn't top shelf in this regard.
During the day, I will blast out some rock or classical, and dynamic range is not lacking either. Classic rock (Pink Floyd) to classical organ (Saint Saens), I am not disappointed. I am sometimes actually startled by music I thought I was quite familiar with!
For reference, let me state my amp is a custom made 3D Audio 300B, speakers are Ocellia 98db/1watt eficient Ocellias, with a Metronome Technologie DAC and various digital sources. One would never expect the dynanic capabilities this system exhibits with "only" 9 watts per channel.
Don't forget the extremely high markup for most audio products, due to marketing, severely affects their price/performance ratio.
Another possibility is a modification to your present preamp's power supply. If you are happy with it's sound, it just might benefit from some more "juice". This would affect both micro- and macrodynamics, especially of it manages to reduce your preamp's noise floor.
Just one man's opinion, but I hope this helps.
Best of Luck,
Ray