Preamp... Solid State or Tube

There's too many nice sounding preamps to own anything but a few of them. I've owned a Threshold T3, a Threshold T3i, a BAT VK5i, VK30, VK40, VK20, Forte 4A, Coda 04r, 02, 01p, ARC LS5, just for starters. I preferred the BAT pre's the most, and The Threshold's next, but they were each fabulous sounding preamps, all mated to SS amps from Plinius, to Pass, BAT, on and on. Now I own an Inspire LP2 mated to an Inspire fire bottle KT88 set amp by Dennis Had. So much gear, so little time and money. Over 20 years I've only owned a few products I didn't care for, one being an ARC LS8 I believe the model was...it wasn't here long enough for me to remember the model number...enjoy the listening journey.

I have seen very little feedback in this post about the two pre's you asked about.
I currently own a Calypso in my system , running a direct-stream dac and transport, Mcintosh M1.2 mono amps with Legacy Whispers HD's using AMT version all fully balanced.
For my ears i have not been more pleased at this price point. I have been to a lot of shows and auditioned many B&M stores and have only a few systems similar to my current experience and i must say at a lot higher investment.

I also run HT thru my gear and the Calypso performs flawlessly in two channel and HT. I have performed several different tube rolling efforts and found that it depends on your ears preference to decide tube type.
I an planning on upgrading to the Signature version soon which from what I have read and hear from the community reveals another layer of depth and openness that i find really hard to believe exists, but that is the ghost that this hobby keeps us all chasing.

At your listed price point I would suggest that you may consider a MBL 6010D preamp, occasionally you can get close to this price on Audiogon and IMO this is the pentacle that pre's have to offer, so much to offer although solid state, I had the pleasure of auditioning this pre was so revealing it made you want to take off your shoes and just wiggle your toes, I'm really impressed with this piece of gear but it is far beyond my budget limits, and there will be no need for tubes and other maintenance requirements with this gear.
I'm sure you are aware Aesthetix also has many higher level units, the Calypso is only the entry level.

I have also auditioned Convergent Audio gear in my system as well, this brand needs no introduction, but only offers rca as a standard , you can gat balanced upon ordering.
I also performed an AB comparison to the Calypso and the SL1 MKll they were surprisingly close to each other almost no difference in presentation , for the money the Calypso was my choice and I have been extremely happy with this choice.
I think the suggestion about attending the Axpona show was a very good idea,  Modright is always there,  The amount of feedback you get at these shows are priceless though,  good luck on your quest to getting as close as you can to real thing.

Besides being one of the greatest preamps ever made regardless of price,  CAT SL1 Renaissance can be had with a unique HT bypass mode. It works with the preamp in off mode so you do not burn the tubes. Let me know if you wish to discuss. 

Dealer disclosure 

@electrostaticnut,

You got a very nice system and thank you for your feedback.  MBL 6010D is indeed very nice, may be someday.  Based on the general consensus here and my personal experience with Modwright, I am likely to end up with a Modwright tube preamp.

I think their Elyse DAC is still flying under the radar. Strangely it doesn't garner enough press. IMHO, it's one of the most natural, relaxed and tonally accurate sounding DAC available under 10K price point. 

Hopefully down the road, we get to see a Modwright all-tube linestage with fully balanced circuitry from input to output with HT Bypass and XLR inputs.  

I heard rumblings of all new SWL 9.0 Anniversary Edition preamp around $3K. It will be a 5687 based single-ended line stage of all-tube design, with choke-regulated supply, Home Theater Bypass and integral headphone amp. Fit and finish will be similar to the original, i.e. heavy gauge with a 3/8" aluminium faceplate with engraved lettering to match the existing product line. 

Happy Listening!