I've tried several preamps with a VT50 that is similar in sound to the VT100, but lower in power. The Placette passive worked quite well as a budget choice if you use short, low capacitance cables. Transparency and resolution were high points here since the ARC equipment also excels in these areas. I know that it's a heresy of competitive brand mixtures, but a Conrad Johnson preamp (e.g., Premier 17) also worked quite well when I tried it. Other solid state preamps I tried lost some of the tube magic in the midrange and soundstage, so you might want to stay with a clean, high resolution tube preamp with good bass to keep the specific assets of this wonderful power amp.