Please recommend a PreAmp for my 5.1 home theatre system

In my HT system I use an Oppo UDP-205 to do the processing, feeding the fixed analog 5.1 output into a Krell HTS 7.1. Audio processing in the Oppo is superb and the Krell is just acting as a glorified 5.1 volume control. Works perfectly for me and the cost of a new Oppo UDP-205 and used Krell HTS 7.1 is about half your budget.

The Oppo does have a volume control so you do not even need a pre amp.

Thanks for some great responses!  The OPPO idea is intriguing.  Didnt realize that a Blu Ray could double duty as a PreAmp.

you shouldn't use the Oppo to do the volume control duties... that said the Oppo205 is great for everything else.. I have one and had it modded (Modwright).. for music - analog out to HT bypass and for movies HDMI out..  Foundation perfect match for your amp

There is no problem using the Oppo's volume control. Once upon a time digital volume ocntrols were not a good idea as it cost you bit depth. These days, with internal 32 bit processing, this no longer applies. See here for a presentation by Sabre: http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2015/1216/digital-vs-analog-volume-control.pdf