Tube Preamp for possible Bryston 4B SST2 amp

Great amp. Great amp. What is your budget or range? What are you looking for in a tube pre? Put another way, what are your 'sonic priorities'? Extension? Dynamics? Transparency? Detail? Bass? Midrange magic?

Personally, i've favorted CJ pre's for 12 years, but have listened to many. ARC Ref 3, 5 are both good and available at steep discounst today. Shindo also good though strong emphasis on pure, pure tonality and low noise floor (signal-to-noise 119db), but perhaps not the strongest on deep, rythmic pulsing upper bass.

I bought a Bryston 4B-SST2 and wanted an Audio Research REF3 preamp. I bought the Bryston BP-26, really only to avoid tube replacements..
I half wish i had aquired the ARC REF3. As I bought a VAC Standard tube just as a buffer for the digital.
Hindsight is 20/20. but I think i should have bought the REF 3 instead of the Bryston. Though at this time i would not swap them. (more for $$ and bother than any other reason.) As I am very happy with my setup as it is.

Hi Elizabeth,

I've read many of your posts and enjoyed learning from them. Thanks for taking the time. Just curious - how would you compare the 4BSST2 to any of the earlier generation? i have read most of the reviews of the SST2...mainly focusing on it having a 'purity of treble' that in earlier generations might have been characterized as 'very clean' (sterile by other people's standards).

Where on the spectrum does the treble (and the rest of the amp's tonality) now sit (relative to Krell, ML, Gryphon, Vitus, Soulution, ARC, etc...) Thanks for any guidance!