Tube Preamp

This is easy.  Build or buy pre-assembled one of the top line models from tubes4hifi.com

You don't say whether or not you have a turntable.  If you don't, then get the SP14.  Preassembled and tested it is $1350 plus shipping, well within your budget.   Or build the kit for $960.  There's a level of enjoyment you get from building your own that nothing else can match.

If you need to have a phono preamp section, you could build one the outboard phono preamps they have, or do like I did and get the SP13 with their PH12 phono preamp.   The board sizes along with the chassis space determines what is possible.  The SP13 and SP14 are the same circuit, but have different, but electrically equivalent tubes.  The SP13 uses 6CG7 tubes and the SP14 uses 6SN7 tubes.

My SP13 is as good as any tube preamp I've ever heard, and it cost me a lot less than most all of the hi-end tube preamps.  It's certainly the equal of a Mac C22 or Marantz 7.

Within your budget, nothing can match a used Doge 8 preamp. It takes 4 x 12AT7 (line stage) and 4 x 12AX7 tubes (phono stage).  It does both MM and MC.

It is however, very dependent on which tubes you select. I had very good success with Siemens ECC81S (12AT7) in the linestage and Shuguang black bottle 12AX7 in the phonostage.

YMMV.

I have a Linear Tube Audio MZ2 paired with a Halo A21 and am very happy with the result. Lots of great reviews and comments here on Agon. The Aric Audio pre's have also been highly praised, but I have not heard them.

Surprised no one else is endorsing the Joule Electra’s...

Low rider:  Indeed a linear power supply may result in an improvement.  Its a 16V wart.  I’ve got 3 warts on my system.  To date I’ve addressed this by doubling up a Furhman power conditioner with EFI-EMi clamps on all my plugs/connectors, and isolate the warts as far away from my components as possible using a dedicated power strip for the warts also plugged into the Furhman.  I’ve plugged and unplugged the warts at full power/volume and don’t hear them.  Thats not to say soundage isn’t impacted.  I’m dead quite on all inputs except my Mc phono, but don’t feel its coming from any of the warts.  Tubes seem to be the #1 variable in the phono section noise department.  I’ve done an AB comparison of the LOKi in/out of the system and detect no issues.  Its clean.  I strive for extreme detail as my MO and accomplish this via driving a large pair of ML electrostats bi-amped with a pair of NUForce STA-200’s, and a tube pre-amp that includes grid frame’s in the first section of the tubes and the Russian 75 HG Saratovs in the 2’nd part of the phono stage.  Have also installed the little VIshay low uF bypass capacitors on both the Martin Logan high and medium stator caps, and run the same along with bypass capacitors and Mundorf Supreme EVO gold, silver & oil caps in the audio output stage of the pre-amp.  Net, I can hear a flea walk across the recording studio.  The soundstage is crisp, detailed, and deep.  Not everyone likes this, I strive for it.  But its extremely revealing of system, source, or recording issues.  Not detected w/the Loki.  But I have to admit in the quest for improvement, a linear supply may result in another step up.  The challenge is numerous different voltages in the wall wart row.  You think the industry would standardize.  Need a Swiss knife LPI that can handle various voltages from one unit.  The Schiit Loki is not a tube pre-amp, but I wanted to mention it because the topic author suggested EQ was important to their interest and its the first EQ that meets my expectations without molesting the SQ IMHO for what its worth.