All of the Aesthetic phonostages I've heard were on the noisier side. I suppose that this is, in part, because they use only active gainstages and don't use a step up transformer. There are many tube phonostages with step up transformers that are dead quiet. I have a Viva fono which is actually MUCH quieter than a friend's Boulder solid state phonostage.
With tube phonostages that are a bit noisy, it is important to hunt down tubes that are quieter. Even with the same type/brand of tubes, some willl be quieter than others.
I have not heard many solid state phonostages in my system that are in your price range. At a dealership, I did hear a nice system that employed the $7500 Zanden phonostage. This is a particularly flexible phonostage that offers different equaliztion curves--RIAA, Decca, Columbia, EMI and Teldec (DG), if I recall properly. I was surprised how many fairly recently pressed records sounded better on an alternative equalization curve even though they were pressed long after RIAA was supposed to be universal. The Zanden also offered a phase inversion switch.
