Recommend a preamp for Denon Dl 160

I recently purchased a Denon Dl 160 moving coil cart and although it sounds good it was not what i expected. I did some research and it seems I need a preamp to get me the 1k ohm load I need. I have a Technics Sa-ax 530 av control stereo receiver, A Realistic lab 400 turntable, and some V4 Paradigm Titans. The real problem may lie in that I am using an av receiver however cds and tapes sound ok through it-but not through its phono stage. Any recommendations for a nice preamp for around $250 new or used.