Gary,
Man, I'm so happy you pulled the trigger after my verbal diarrhea about the slight possibility of maybe just perhaps someday in the future monos!
(Tommy would have had every right to be ticked, esp if I cost him a sale!)
Regardless, please do tell us your experiences!
Are you able to run balanced from the pre?
I'm not big into equipment break-in and the Cherries I've heard have probably all had some hrs on them before they were in my system. I agree w/ jzexport - the amps don't change much if at all from the instant you switch 'em on.
Best of luck! (my VR-33 dreams might have to be put on hold for a while - real life is taking real $$ - don't it suck when that happens?

)
-Mike