Best Line Stage Preamp?

I am using a highly modified Bottlehead Foreplay with my KR Antares and I have no complaints. Just for a comparison, I have ordered a Luminous Audio Axiom passive preamp. It is quite inexpennsive ($125) and is supposed to be a very good passive but it only has one set of inputs/outputs. I will most my comments on the two preamps in a few weeks.

I know I'm not "an other" but here goes - I have a small (11 x 13.5 x 8.5) room although it's plaster with a cove ceiling and heavily braced floor. I get tremendous dynamics from the Placette and have tried it against 4-5 high rated expensive to very expensive pre-amps. I actually get less dynamic expression from the actives. One thing that always tips me to this is that I keep turning the music up during listening sessions. I don't do this with the Placette passive. I still get startled on a regular basis with this system. However, not many CDs are produced with wide dynamic swings, but many classical recordings literally hit me with shock waves.

We were at a small restaurant last weekend and heard a Spanish styled guitarist with female a singer. He also startled me a few times, the singer did not. She had a pretty flat delivery.

Again, I've tried everything from a Krell & Classe to C-J and BAT, still like the presentation of the passive. Oddly enough, I thought the Krell had the worst dynamic ability - I kept increasing volume until the room shook which at that point the music was gone. My room does that at extremely loud levels.

Excellent idea, though. Let's hear from more people and hopefully those who are not trapped by the glitter of high priced gear.

The Placette Active is actually a "no gain" preamp.
The two output amplifiers only lower the output impedance to a very low level to improve accuracy of the signal transfer.

If you are interested in a very transparent, active linestage, you might consider the First Sound Presence Deluxe Mk II Linestage. Despite having a high degree of transparence, it has excellent dynamics. I have this linestage as well as a CAT Ultimate preamp and I would say that the First Sound will give a more immediate, more present rendering of the music. The CAT is more weighty in the low mids and low bass, has stunning dynamics, has a beautiful harmonic structure, but is a bit more bloomy in the mids and just a bit more diffuse in the mids. The F.S. is stark by comparison. It is the ultimate in clarity, quietness and delivery of a black background from an active unit. Rock-solid, very stable imaging and very wide soundstaging on the F.S. Female vocals can be outstanding with this unit, depending on the recording. I like both the CAT and F.S. for different reasons, but if you are biased to hear midrange accuracy, clarity and transparence over midrange sweetness and musicality, I would say that the F.S. is worth an audition, particularly since it also has considerable dynamics.

The F.S. has a relatively high output impedance of about 1700 ohms which could be a problem with certain low impedance solid state amps, such as Pass amps. This might cause a loss of dynamics and some low-bass rolloff when the F.S. is matched with such an amp. I doubt that would be a problem with your tubed KR Antares.

I don't know about "best", as that is purely subjective based on personal preferences, system synergy, etc...

My personal "best" is also the First Sound Presence Deluxe mkII. It outperfomed 5 other good preamps that I've had in my system over the last year or so.