First of let me start by saying that I don’t design this type of equipment and am far from being an expert so I can’t give you a technical reason why it should be so much harder.

With that said I would have to say (read semi-educated guess) it is because a modern pre/pro has so many other things it has to do (and do well) compared to a 2ch preamp. The best thing (IMHO) that a good preamp can do is get out of the way of the music. That is why I think the Outlaw 950 does such a great job. It has that wonderful Bypass button that turns it into basically a volume control for your amp and “Bypasses” everything else. If you do choose to let the 950 in on the decoding task the DAC’s are top notch as well.

I like the sound of Tube gear myself but I don’t like it that much more (nor do I have the room) to build a dedicated 2ch music system. Like I said this is just my take on things and should be taken with a grain of salt

Lasher