Get a CAT SL-1 Ultimate. It is the best preamp at $5950 or below (or above insofar as I have heard). If you like detail, well you'll get it, but not the screeching brightness that passes for detail with some other preamps. The mids are absolutely liquid, transparent, smooth and musical. There is no harshness brightness or grain anywhere. It has got superb dynamics, great 3D soundstage and great, great bass extension. It is a tube preamplifier that lets you have your cake and eat it too. It is absolutely dead quiet, and it has a world class phono section which rates with the best of the outboard phono preamps. Everything that the Hovland does very well, the CAT does significantly better, except I can see where one could rate the extreme highs of the Hovland over the CAT. I have a/b'ed CAT's vs. Lamm's (Lamm lost. Not nearly as musical), CAT vs. Hovland (Hovland loses. Seriously rolled off in deep bass. Not as dynamic as CAT.). I must admit to not having heard all of the previous preamps, like Thor and First Sound, but based purely on its sonic capabilities, I almost don't know how you could ask more of a preamplifier. If you don't believe me, check out the April May 2000 Absolute Sound, where Larry Alan Kay declares it his "first choice in preamps" or look at the August 1999 Stereophile where Robert Deutsch recommends putting the CAT Ultimate at the top of your short list. Your personal taste may lead you elsewhere, but I believe it would be a serious mistake to fail to audition this product.