Maybe tube preamp

Just to add to what david_ten said, going down the Aric's path, or any one-man builder shop for that matter, is a very different mind set as compared with the big guys and going off the shelf. He's literally one email away and (obviously) knows his gear inside out. You just need to tell him what type of sound you're after and he can tell you what parts to use, down to which capacitors and exactly what values. You can do that as a recipe for him to build to or implement the upgrades yourself after purchase. I personally find that very refreshing and can forego the fancy esthetics of a comparably priced, possibly used one at that, a name brand piece. For example, I'm a soundstage and an air-around-instruments junkie and the replacement/upgraded capacitors he recommended were higher in chain of the same brand but different values from what he'd in the unit. All based on his experience. Like everything there's always a trade off so if I preferred more bass he might have recommended a different brand and/or value. For me, it was fun to pull out my long forgotten soldering gun and ordered the components myself and the self satisfaction was really enjoyable. I could have spent a lot more than the price of the preamp just for the upgraded capacitors and that's where the experience of the builder comes in to inject sanity. The irony is many of the real pricy gears out there use real cheap components and a good chunk of the price of admission goes for the esthetics and all the machining of the case and the fancy knobs. 
Anyway, like I said, the good news is there are lots of options out there, and at any price point, both for the gear and the path of upgrades one is willing to take. 
Make sure you let us know what you decide.

I just bought a Schiit Freya, which I didn't need and hasn't arrived yet. It's so inexpensive I simply had to try one as no other preamp I've heard of has its features, and I wanted a tube preamp to go with my SEP power amp. It comes with one fancy knob.

Thanks David and Kalali.  Good advice, I think.  I will have chat with the folks at Aric. And I will certainly post here my decision, and perhaps some of the deliberations that precede it.

Hi wolf,  I agree.  The Schiit Freya is a VERY reasonably priced unit.  If my budget were more constrained, I would consider one.  At some point the 'you get what you pay for' adage starts to carry some weight.  I'm reminded of the Chinese amps you see on E-Bay for $125 that produce 4000 watts.  (How is that even possible?  115volts x 20 amps is 2300 watts.  That would seem the theoretical maximum wattage derived from common household current) 

Let me be clear.  I in no way intend to imply that the folks at Schiit are charlatans.  I do not recall their web site making outlandish claims. In fact, I think that even if the quality of the Freya is a few notches below that of Aric's Unlimited,  which I believe to be the case, they are offering a very good value.  .Enjoy.  Let me know how far off base I am.  :)

My current preamp sounds absolutely excellent (Kavent S33…rare but amazing) but the Freya just seems like it has a "fun" potential (and more of my current fave 6SN7 tubes) so I simply hope it sounds good. Balanced, 3 modes, interesting volume control…we shall see. I’ve had a Schiit Loki long enough now to be sold on the Schiit quality control, and I think price can often be irrelevant to the sound of things as proved when I scored a lightly used Dennis Had "Fire Bottle" amp for 1200 bucks…the Aric stuff does seem pretty cool and handmade (my Had amp is utterly hand done and I open it up just to look at it sometimes) so please get one and report back!

mark, in case you ultimately decide you want to go with a popular name brand, there's a Conrad Johnson Classic SE for sale now for $1,150. I have not heard this particular model but it gets good reviews and should have that famous CJ midrange glow.