Tube Preamps.....

@br3098 I am telling what the technician at CJ (Jeff, I believe) told me. I talked about sending my line stage classic 2 SE to get  phono stage put in. I was asking him if I should just upgrade to the 3 and he said "why? its the same circuit with a remote control added to it" He asked me to stick with the classic and just get a phono stage to go with it unless I wanted the remote. He also said the phono stage they add to the 3 and 2 is the TEA2 circuit.

shrapnel, if that's what the tech at CJ told you then it must be true.  But I will add that I have owned the ET2, Classic and CT6 preamps (amongst other CJ models) and I will tell you for a fact that the design, parts and layout for these three preamps are completely different, as is the sound signature.  YMMV

@br3098 I see, I haven't so I will take your word for it. Either way, in my opinion, CJ gear is simply awesome.

Agreed

Try to figure out what you want - lean, warm or lush?

+1 CJ is very good value not so good on resale if it doesn’t work for you. Mcintosh is a great classic sounding choice with good resale but higher priced because highly desirable - warm but not lush. VAC are lush but pricey. As Wolf mentioned, once you get a tube preamp then tube rolling can become an endless pursuit too...