Highest value pre under 1.5k used?

Robert Grodinsky Research RGR 4. List price in 1981 $600. I bought mine for $200 a few years ago! A superb preamp from the founder of pro audio company RG Dynamics. Sound quality competitive with any of today's four-figure preamps.

What do you need for feature set?   Remote?  Dual pre-out ?    Balanced?   

Excellent point, yes I need all three. Thank you!

You may have to stretch that budget to get all three.   I just bought a NIB old stock Zesto Leto preamp.  Sure it was more than I planned on spending but it was worth every penny.   I have long said the preamp is the most important component....maybe even more than the speaker you choose.   Which also is often times used with components that don't do them justice , so you upgrade speakers.  The electronics are so vital to good sound.