Decent preamps?

[Dusteh]

I have been upgrading here and there, and now feel that the only thing missing is a good quality 2nd hand preamp. I know very little about which preamps stand out from the crowd - my budget would be a measly £200-£300.

I do know that it has to have a good headphone-out.

If it makes any difference, it would be plugged into a nad c272 power amp running Quad 21L speakers - input would be from an old cambridge audio dacmagic 2i.

Any direction would be cool... so far the only thing I have seen that seems to fit is the Audiolab 8000q. Am I right in thinking that there aren't any good NAD budget preamps?

[ultrawomble]

I have been considering the Audiolab 8000Q to run as a pre-amp into the HT input of my Musical Fidelity A3.5 - the variable gain of the 8000Q appeals since I do quite a bit of late night, low level listening and find that the bottom end of the A3.5 volume control to be quite coarse and uneven.

[Helicon]

There are a lot of mediocre pre-amps out there, and very few world class ones. For the budget you have, definitely look at the second hand market. The Audiolabs are a good start.

[nsherin]

Any of the NAD integrateds - such as the C352 or C320BEE can be used as a preamp. Simply run the pre-outs to your power amp. Either of those amps are excellent value for money - I use the C320BEE as an integrated (pre/power in one box) and it does a stunning job at that! I'd be wary of mixing brands between pre/power, as each brand has its own 'house sound'. By going with one brand, you'll likely get a more balanced sound.

[Helicon]

But a good quality dedicated pre will do a far better job than an integrated amp will.