What pre amp to use in my system?

Why are you targeting the pre as a means of solving fatigue? Maybe is the speaker/amp combo...FWIW I had a 1080 with the older B&W CM4 and they worked fine. Upgraded to the 804S and got fatigue. Replaced the 1080 with McIntosh MC275 (tubes) and it is magical. BTW, I still have my Rotel RC1070 pre, which is the next to go in the upgrade list.

The amp/speaker combo is arguable the most critical link in the chain (without wanting to start here the old argument about whether source or speaker/amp is more important!). If you are comfortable with what you have there, then looking for a pre is fine. Otherwise you might be better off saving for a while longer.

My 2 cents.

Unless your local guy is incredible, I would agree with the advice to wait and save. I have a Rotel 1095 that I think is a little harsh sometimes, but great on the stuff you like. I was advised to make my next move a tube preamp, but the advice was to go big and make it a Mac.

Well, about why I think I should get a preamp, it is quite a long process as everyone has gone through. I originally has a Rotel 1055 receiver with my CDM 9 NT. Then, I change it to a Denon 988 to take advantage of the 7.1 and the DTS-HD master for Blu-ray. Then I found out the sound for music is not as good as my Rotel receiver before. Since I thought the amp and the speaker are the most important component, I got the Rotel RB 1080 and use the Denon as the processor/preamp. Base on my research, it is not a bright amp. However, I am still not satisfied with the result. Therefore I decided to try adding a preamp. And to my surprise, the effect is much more significant than changing the amp. At this point, I believe changing the preamp will give me the biggest effect. And I would like to keep the speaker and the amp. So .. if I wait and save, what are the suggestions?

Thanks.

OK, fair enough.

Have you tried Rotel RC1070? It was $400 new back 5-6 years ago, and I still have it. It's a good match with the RB1080.

If it were me I would probably try and save more and buy a used unit from A'gon. Maybe a Rowland Capri? Sorry can't help much in that price range. McIntosh, Classe, Rowland, Mark Levinson, Conrad Johnson are generally regarded as good matches with B&W. Willing to have tubes?

BTW, if you decide to buy older stuff make sure to have it recaped.

Horacio

What sources are you using,interconnects and speaker cables?
But since you like female vocals and want a smoother midrange that to me means a nice tube pre amp.