Seeking Suggestions on Preamp Upgrade (CJ, Aesthetix, EAR)


I have about $5,000 budget to upgrade a preamp.  I am using Luxman 550 integrated as a preamp currently, it sounds a bit too lean to me.  Rest of the system are Pass XA30.5, Dynaudio Contour 3.4, Marantz reference SACD.  I am thinking CJ CT5/ET5, CJ ACT2, Aesthetix Calypiso, EAR 868, or Zesto Leto.  Thank you very much!

davidhe19audio
I have a CJ CT-5 which I use with a Legacy [Coda built] amp. I am really happy with it, but it is one preamp that you can't do much tube rolling, the 6h30 comes in 3 varieties, and the NOS version is now sky high.
If I was looking for a preamp in your price range, consider the PS Audio BHK  Signature preamp, they offer very good deals with a trade in. And a 30 day trial period.
How it would match up with your other gear, no idea. Just one more to consider.
tlalpan14600:

Thank you for the recommendation of Aesthetix.  I wonder if I can ask two questions of your using experience regarding Aesthetix.  

1). What is the distance between you and the speakers of your system.
2)  inside the Calypso there are internal gain adjustment for both channel.  One is 0db, the other is -12db.  Which gain adjustment do you use when you use Genelex from Shuguang?

I noticed some complaints on the web about noise level of Aesthetix, and thought about the possible cause of it.  

I assume that the input impendence of Jadis is about 135K ohm?

Thank you very much again!