Best preamp under 1500$ freya+ , cary slp03 ?

It is pretty amazing especially for the money.  But like everything else in our hobby you normally get what you pay for and $1,000 is just not enough for a really good preamp, tube or SS, balanced or not.

Buy an cold Counterpoint preamp and upgrade it.  It then becomes a reference preamp.

Happy Listening.

Firstly, for what you’re going, for I was just change the dac

The Freya+ is tough to beat. It’s very versatile, has a great volume control and has great resale value. Will something @ $1500 be “better” than the Schiit? Maybe. More versatile, doubtful. Better resale, doubtful. Better volume control, doubtful. Yet who knows. Wait 10 minutes and technology changes…

Rogue RH-5 might be had for around that price.  Hard to find though.