Recommendations please for good, affordable pre-amp for system?

@donzi, you're all over the map here.  My best recommendation would be to establish a relationship with a local dealer and borrow a variety of equipment so you can listen to the differences for yourself and best figure out what you tend to prefer sonically.  I think this advise will save you a tremendous amount of time and money in the future.

That said, I think the Thiels are excellent speakers, but difficult for all but the more high-powered tube amps to drive well.  Those tube amps won't be available at the price point that you'd be looking at, so that leaves solid-state amplification.

If I were to recommend an integrated, I'd think the Plinius 8000 or 9000 series would be a good choice, but consider also Classe, Electrocompaniet, NAD master-series, Yamaha AS-2000, or one of the older Musical Fidelity integrateds, just to list a few.

Ultimately, though, audio preference is a personal thing, and you will likely find your own preferences will evolve over time.  So the more equipment you're able to listen to, the most informed you will be both in terms of the differences (or lack thereof sometimes) of the various electronics, but also what you tend to like sonically.

Good luck, and enjoy the journey!

Michael

I just picked up a Bryston 11b (same family as the 0.5b, but with more features).  It is replacing a Pass DIY B1 buffer which "pani" suggested.  I also have an Aikido tube preamp I purchased on Agon.  All of the above were purchased for sub-$400.  I'm running a Belles 400 power amp and Klipsch Fortes.

All three preamps sound good.  I was running the Pass over the Aikido because the sound was cleaner and to my ear, more involving.  The Aikido has more euphonics and texture, but to the point of distracting me from enjoying the music itself.  It was more natural to toe-tap with the Pass than it was with the Aikido.

With the Bryston, I'm getting a more pleasing form factor, a nicer (for me, at least) volume setup and a built-in phono stage.  I didn't do extensive side-by-side testing, but I believe the Bryston is more similar to the Pass than it is to the Aikido.

If you have a limited budget, I don't think it's a bad thing at all to buy a 0.5B and use it until you have more funds to upgrade.  If you buy well, you'll at least break even, as Brystons hold their value well.

Thanks hanfrac, Nice unit! I found it interesting that you felt the sound better out of this Bryston than a tube preamp. I had understood that tube usually added warmth to the system (a bit of a concern for me, as both my speakers and amp are known to be "accurate".) I ended up getting this unit, but had a bid in on a Bryston 0.5B. I didn't chase it aggressively, as I knew that preamp was already on the way. But, especially in light of all of that, your experiences are fascinating. 

Part of the reason I went with Bryston is that this is what the people at Thiel recommended for those speakers when I called them. For sure, this is all subjective, but as a new member of audio, I figured theirs was good advice to get. But then again, I'm told that they're both bright.

Another preamp I'm considering is this one, based on a recommendation earlier here. For sure, this is a future upgrade; but the idea of building my own simply fascinates me. --And, I was hoping, the tubes would add warmth. Perhaps not always, based on your experience. And perhaps as the Thiel rep said, Bryston/Bryston might be the way to go with amp and pre. Bright + bright + bright. Who knows, maybe that's the way it was designed to be.

I just picked up the speakers yesterday, and none of the rest of the stuff is here yet. So I'm anxious to plug it all together and see what I have -- and begin the process of hearing and listening. And perhaps, fine tuning as time goes on. Someone else here also said some wonderful advice, that, in his opinion, the preamp was a harder purchase than the speakers. Certainly this is not something that I can chase with continual purchases to try it. So, thanks again for the recommendations and thoughts!

I talked to engineer at Bryston and he said BP-6 thru- 20 series pre's were all basically the same .

But not BP 0.5 or BP 1, I would presume? Good info. Would you imagine that staying within a brand is generally a better, more compatible way to go, in terms that they know what they're trying to achieve end-to-end?