Preamps

@ricred1 there’s another similar thread about preamps that you are aware of and you are also aware of my recommendations for Mola Mola which based on European prices would certainly be within your budget.

Jason Stoddard and Mike Moffat aren't about to sell a crappy product that effects the great reputation they've developed over the years. The Freya is a huge hit simply because it's well engineered and sounds great, costs FAR less than most other preamps in its class (although it has far more features than most), and they listen to customer's suggestions for improvement. The "newer" versions of the Freya have less of a gain gap between the tube and other modes, they've added new Tung Sol 6SN7GTBs as an option, and they certainly listen to anybody who asks about things, and replace faulty items. 

Freya and LS28 are not even playing the same game. I've got a ton Schitt gear (Freya, Saga, Gungnir MB, Yggy), I've got a ton of AR gear, I've got a ton of Luxman gear. I've had the Schiit integrated. I've replaced it with a Yamaha AS1100 for the same price used. Schiit doesn't even play in the same game as the Yamaha. Connect the Freya preamp to AR REF75 and the soundstage collapses both width but especially depth wide and even in JFET mode is more noisy. Same with Saga. They make great gear at a fair price, but to say it sounds as good as gear costing 10x is BS. Sure you can get a great preamp for not a lot of money, but it ain't Freya. It's Don Sachs model 14. Better or as good as LS28 for not much more $$$ than Schiit gear. The coupling caps Don uses cost half as much Freya does. Freya uses coupling caps that are $2 bucks a piece. You can't cheat when it comes to coupling caps in tube gear. You just can't.

I've paired my Freya with an ARC REF75 amp and it sounded astonishing, with none of the alleged soundstage issues described, so I can only surmise some people simply live on another planet. I brought it into an "audio salon" and the sales dudes were shocked at how good it sounded, even relative to some insanely pricey stuff. It's a quiet over-performer, with plenty of otherwise rational rave reviews supporting it.

I'd first try a Benchmark LA4 @ only $2.6k, specs wise it's SOTA, remains to be seen if you also like the sound (Benchmark offers 30 days in home trial). Compared to the transformer coupled Rowland i'm sure it's more transparent to the source. 

https://benchmarkmedia.com/collections/preamplifiers/products/benchmark-la4-line-amplifier?variant=1...

Closer to the stated price range I'd try the T+A P3000HV and the Chord CPA 5000 (since you have the DAVE).