I like Adcom preamps quite a bit. I had a GFP-545 which was nice, it even had a pretty good AM/FM tuner it it. I bet you can pick up a nice used Adcom pretty inexpensively. You also might look at some used Rotel preamps too. Parasound PHP850 have a nice phono stage built in and it's a nice sounding unit that I've seen regularly go for less than $200. I owned one for a couple of years and liked it. The only down side is that it doesn't have a remote.

The GFP-555 is a good pre-amp, and equal to the NAD IMO. But if you can spend just a little more, I strongly recommend you go for the GFP-565. During its day, the '565 was well reviewed in the pages of Stereophile, and was praised for its neutrality and dead-quiet phono stage. Adcom gear is well known for its durability, and even though the GFP-565 might be a bit above your nominated price range, it is a piece of gear that for a few dollars more you could enjoy for many years to come. I have a GFP-565 in my bedroom system paired with an Adcom GFA-555II amp and think it is an excellent combination.

May I also suggest the Onkyo P-304? A classic piece, great sound, and -- I don't know about anyone else, but -- I've never experienced the tiniest hiccup in performance or mechanical reliability from anything made by Onkyo.

The Onkyo is great, but the circuit is a bit busy. This tends to make it sound a bit more sterile and grey than the shorter and simpler electrical pathways of the Adcom. I love the looks of the Onkyo gear. I keep having to reign myself in from buying every Onkyo piece I see.

The Adcom is also QUITE easy to electronically upgrade. New op-amps, and new coupling caps..and use Cardas Solder only. Then you've got a balls on world beater, with regards to cash outlay.

As for fixing the NAD, if someone says 'fixing this is not doable as it is outdated', consider 'fixing' that person, as I'm not sure they're intelligent enough to breed, with regards to fixing electronics. there is NOTHING in that NAD preamp that is unfixable or unreplaceable.

Take it to a tweaker shop, where the owner is an audiophile tweaker. He'll make it sound like a $M bucks.

If you don't know such a shop-FIND ONE. They are god's gift to audiophiles. They are like faith healers who actually cure ills - Your new feverish friend. Hallelujah!

Can you make us some referrals to these places? I tried a google search and got (surprise, surprise) a whole bunch of nothing.

On the other hand, I did learn that the World Trade Center was destroyed by a powerful lentil-soup conspiracy, and that you can cure Malaria by drinking blended tuna fish heads, so it wasn't a total loss.