What active preamp...

good point about the T2's: should upgrade to a better cable anyway (T4 if not the 350, if you want to stick with MIT) as that T2 is a compromise at this application level

I used T2 for the STAX SRM1 headphone driver that I believe less affected by the wire quality. In general I believe that T2 has a great built quality and great plugs but anywhay I use it temporarily to check how it works. I'll definitely brew for myself some VanDenHul Type1(depends on my decision) since I always basically refer to these interconnects. The other alternative that I have is to get longer speaker wire at least for one monoblock. The ones I use VanDenHul CV125 are the best ones that I know for the money. I paid for unterminated pair of 6ft runs $75 and changed them over JPS labs Superconductor!

Pass Labs Aleph P can be had in your price range. This is a really cool preamp, $4000 new, Stereophile class A. It gives you a choice between passive and any amount of gain you want to induce. I use it in it's passive mode most of the time. Sometimes the amp needs some help and I turn up the two gain knobs to a level appropriate. Each input has it's own single ended class A Mosfet. What's more, it comes with a great remote.

Under no circumstances do any Pass components exhibit coloration or brightness.

Consider a used Spectral DMC 12 or DMC 20, if it can be had that cheaply. I've seen used 12's for around $1500 before, used 20's for somewhat more. I compared these to my purest sound systems passive control unit, and they were more revealing, not as bright, and incredibly 3 dimensional. They're also beautiful pieces of industrial design. The 20 was smoother than the 12, but they were both big steps up from the passive control.