Best? Who knows? In the end, how you react to a particular preamp will be a function of your tastes and the remainder of your system. I would also suggest that ease of use, reliability, ease of repair and dealer support should be considered. Also, do you need a unit which has balanced inputs and outputs? I owned a CTC Blowtorch for many years and was very pleased with the sound. I still feel that it is in the top three solid state units available, but it has no remote and cannot accept balanced inputs. More importantly, it lacks that last little bit of magic that tubed units seem to have. The solution for me was an Einstein preamp. It is tubed, retains the speed, detail, low noise and imaging of the Blowtorch but in addition has better, more impactful bass, better dynamics, is more three dimensional, better image density and tonally is truer to the sound. In addition, it has a very well thought out remote, balanced inputs and a balanced output. Is it the best preamp in the world? Who knows? But it is one of the very few units which I could live with long term. And it does have magic!
