Amps get all the thunder, what about preamps?

I haven't heard CAT. I'll try to find one for a listen. Right now I am using an Aleph P and love it. The Aleph replaced a Sonic Frontiers Line 1. On my system the SF was slightly chalky dry in the mids. Should have taken the review seriously on that one.

Getting back to the question, the pre is very important. If your amp isn't clipping, the pre is just as important, but so are all the other components.

Are you interested in a traditional pre-amp with a phono stage? Do you have specific MM and/or MC requirements? If not for a little more money a used TacT might offer the biggest bang for the buck.

Three votes for CAT preamp's, impressive, where do these stand in comparison to the "Deal of the Century" Supratek? Do either of these have remote?

No pre-amp is best pre-amp! Check this link, and with some "elbow grease" you might end up with best kept secret in audio complimenting your amp!?

http://www.bentaudio.com/index2.html

Yes indeed Brian - what about preamps? The pre is ONLY the most important component in an audio system.
Some may run without one & thinking that they're better off, but they may or may not be getting all of the performance possible from their singular source. If you have multiple sources then a preamp is practically mandatory, unless you like fussing around with changing cables all the time. I don't.
The pre should be the best component in your rig & can easily be the most expensive part thereof. Passives can be less expensive than actives; compromises in favor of either approach can go either way. But you still want the best pre possible so as to not limit the quality being delivered by your sources. If the amp is better than the pre then it's not going to make the sound much better, & in fact can have the effect of better demonstrating the marginality of compromised incoming signal quality. Yet, as you say, they are often overlooked & are therefor compromised, limiting many a system that could in fact be much better than it appears to be capable of being.