[ndeslions]

Tact Audio preamps... www.tactlabs.com....a sensational match.  I've tried a number of others, but the Tact bested them all by a pretty good margin....  find your local dealer and arrange for an in home demo.  You'll thank me for it later

The main problem with Tact preamps is the high frequencies... their digital to analog cards are not good at all, so you have to use them in digital only with a decent DAC or with the matching 2150 amp.

[Adamay]

Although I can't comment on the specific tube pre's mentioned above, I have become quite partial to a tube preamp with the Nuforces.  I'm using a Don Allen custom tube pre, which I auditioned against two very highly regarded passive preamps.  I found the passive pre/Nuforce combination to be a bit dry for my taste.  The Don Allen tube pre contributes harmonic richness & a musical "rightness" with no loss of detail or extension at the frequency extremes, and significantly better dynamics and PRAT.  I've been meaning to post a review, but haven't had the time.  As always, everything is system- and taste-dependent, and others may have different experiences.