Darkmoebius, very nice description of the Slee - JLTI comparison. Very nice observation about the powering up condition. I noticed some similar problems on the JLTI - it is very sensitive to power requirements and can sound thin and bloodless with bad power conditions or if plugged in only for a short time.
A friend brought over his Slee Era Gold V. However without the Elevator, the only step-up I had around was the Lundahl. The Era/Lundahl was tonally very close, but had a fuller softer bass. It did not come close in resolution the JLTI; ther was much more texture and decay to drums. Also the JLTI went much further into the corners with better separation of instruments (which is where the JLTI really shines compared to any preamp).
With the log list of preamps I tried, I should really put together a long review sometime and write things up. The one preamp I still long to try is the K&K or Art Audio Vinyl Reference.