Which is a better choice? New, or used preamp?

Used.
I bought an Audio Research Sp-15 for $1,500. here a few years ago. (It is a two chassis pre new was $6,000.
It is solid state with a nice (3) tubed phono stage.
Another preamp i bought used off Agon was a VAC Standard with remote for $1,500. New retail is $4,000. That is a four tube preamp.
Both were excellent deals for the price used/new.

So from my experience i would say some pretty great deals are out there on tube preamps.
Just have to watch the ads, and be ready to buy instaantly.
Low priced stuff is bought up within hours of being posted.

For example I listed an Audio Research Sp-10 for sale, working but needing new tubes, at a reduced price compared to the going prices. I had four good offers to buy within twenty minutes of posting, plus all sorts of question messages.. and that was at 7AM...

So basically to find a good deal on a great preamp, you need to watch the listings, and know what is what.
I would suggest researching the old tube preamps you are interested in.
Audio Research, Conrad Johnson, and others you feel are good.
So then you KNOW a few models, what they cost new, how old, and the going used prices. Then just watch. And be willing to grab one of a group that meet your desires.
You can get a great preamp for way less.

I knew nothing about the VAC Standard before buying. I had to look up reviews and decide in minutes if i wanted to buy it. Glad I did.

I would always go used; I bought my current pre , $7000 list, as a demo for $3000 and my previous one, $5000 list, used from a recording studio which was a victim of the recession for $1900. Components are like cars, they usually lose a lot of value as soon as the box is opened. I would look at Quicksilver, not much press but very good. CJ is always a safe bet.

Obviously, used is a better choice in regards to price. Just make sure you buy a product that is in fact in good condition and is well supported by the maker. The ARC sp-16 with phono I use is all the pre-amp I would think most would ever want and can be had in that price range and ARC has been around a long time and is known for service as well as sound quality.

I disagree with Larryi, there has been one major advance in tube technology. Companies have figured out how to get a lot more money for them! LOL

Thanks for the feedback... That's basically what I figured, and so I was thinking I would probably go the used route. I couldn't imagine that the preamps had really made that much improvement for a new one to better one that is maybe 10 years old, and 2x the price. Considering inflation, the difference is evn more substantial anyway.

I've always had a preference for the Sonic Frontiers preamps (probably because I just couldn't really afford ARC, C-J, BAT or others back then, so they never really showed up on my radar), so I was thinking of a S-F SFL-2 or maybe or Line-2 or -3.

Maybe some of you can tell me what preamps are contemporary to the late- 90's and early- 00's SF gear and should be considered? I like a comfortable sound, slightly laid back maybe, dark rather than bright, large and deep soundstage, and some 'tube' sound, but not hugely euphonic with tubiness. I think that's why I like the SF gear, over the older C-J, for example, but it's really been a long time since I've heard C-J.

Thanks,

--Michael