Maybe you can clarify your preamp comparison process a little more.
Assuming that any two systems will vary a lot i would say its hard to attribute the sound to any individual component, unless you were swapping the preamps in and out.
In my system the sound character can be adjusted through simply adjusting resonance management and cable tension on my DAC. My point being that comparing different preamps in different systems, while tempting, is fraught with risk of attributing the sonics to just the preamp.
If i want air and a less forward sound from my system i make sure the stiff cables to my DAC are floppy and that my Nordost sort cones are free to work as intended. If the cables are more taught and the sort cones are constrained by the little soft wedge i have under my DAC ( used between listening sessions to stabilise the DAC and stop the cat from knocking it off its place on top of my rack) the sound is forward and with less air/ reverberation ( amongst other characteristics)
Different systems and rooms are bigger factors and would make any comparison of components really very hard to do reliably.
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