How much do I need to spend to get a preamp that sounds better than no preamp?

I'm not trolling, you can stalk me all you like, you "try" to present facts your way, and I'll do them my way, with whoever/whatever proof I have.

George, sorry, you're not fooling me. Endlessly spouting the same thing over and over, especially when you know you are leaving out important facts, is one way trolling is defined! The result of trolling is that someone has to correct your misrepresentation- and then we go on and on, around and around. That's classic trolling.
If you are such an admirer of Nelson then don't make it as if he is saying something he isn't. That seems disrespectful to me at the very least.

Whatever Ralph. I'll do and say anything I feel is right, I know this sort of thing hurts your preamp sales and I'm sorry for that, but I'm not going to step around it as you would like me to.

Cheers George

@georgehifi 
And we'll keep calling you out and correcting you so that nobody confuses you with a credible source of information or honesty. 

Did not read this thread but here is my 2 cents.

I am going to buy the  BENCHMARK HPA4 HEADPHONE / LINE AMPLIFIER unheard and unseen (just released). I already have the Benchmark AHB2 amp. I will buy 1 more of these amps to run in mono mode, I will use this new volume control to connect to the amps which will power KEF Blade speakers. I have been trying to figure out a way to run without a preamp and this maybe the way to achieve this without relying on a DAC with a volume control..

yyzsantabarbara
I will buy 1 more of these amps to run in mono mode

Hi yyzsantabarbara, just be aware when you bridge a stereo amp into mono, yes do do gain a lot more watts, but that’s where the advantages end, and the disadvantages start.

1: There is more distortion.
2: Lower damping factor (higher output resistance) which equates to less control in the bass.
3: Less ability to drive lower impedance’s of some speakers (maybe the Kef’s 3.2ohm in the bass.)

To me if your single Ahb2 has enough watts for you to drive the Kef Blade, which aren’t that hard to drive at 3.2ohm min at 90db and a benign -phase angle, it will probably sound better than two bridged ones. If not I would look at another amp/s without doing any bridging.

Cheers George