Best tube preamplifier for under $15k

Lots of choices to consider. 

I would suggest checking out the Thomas Mayer 10y Line Preamp. I think this is one of his best known products. 

Each unit hand built to your specs by him personally. You can select for what combination of inputs and outputs, chassis wood and paint scheme, he may also give choices on input and output transformers. It can run 10y VT-25 tubes, 801a VT-62 or his own Elrog 801a tubes.
Also transformer volume control is standard which is very rare. The build quality and parts selection are at the highest level. If you are outside the EU you can deduct the 19% VAT from the price. To the US and without pricey options it would cost about $10k. https://www.vinylsavor.com/en/products/line/

His all silver and differential models cost over $15k

@kiethr

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisa2h83-vac-signature-mkiia-se-tubeworld 

Buy this and your will have a world class preamp and world class phono

I like the 27 SET preamplifier, but it has to have DC for the cathode heaters to silence hum and it is very tricky for its plate power. I like the blue glass Arcturus 27's and they sound good too. You have to build your own. You can also use 2C22's in choke loaded mu follower.

I am voting for the Modwright LS300...  I also use his Phono PreAmp and love it as well.  I purchased the PH9.0 a few years ago and had him add balanced outputs for me which he did with Lundahl Transformers.  The sound was incredible!  I have had the LS300 for less than a week, but I must say it was an upgrade that has wowed me.  I am using Bryston 7B mono blocks with Revel 226Be.  So yes...  a big hurrah for the LS300!

I'll add the Woo Audio WA33 Fully-balanced Headphone Amp/Preamp to the mix. It's $14,999 for the 'Elite Edition'. Made in Brooklyn, New York. I have a 1st-generation WA22, modified to preamp duty with a 2nd balanced input and love it. Perfectly silent, perfectly euphonic. Even so, I lust after the WA33. Not sure it's worth 3x as much as what I already have, but I'm sure it's a lot nicer in every conceivable way.

I am surprised there is so little love for the magnificent McIntosh C1100 which can be found used for less than $10,000.   Insert some Gold Lions for a little extra pop and air and you have a world class Pre Amp.

@bdp24 I have the EAR 868 in my second system driving a Luxman M700u. It’s a great preamp too! Sweet phono stage in that unit. 

++1 Don Sachs pre amp. Simply amazing, and Don will tailor the output to your amp if you need.

Lots of MicroZOTL fans - very interesting.

They're the current flavor of the month.

I'm envious @ewert. I have to get by with the 912's little brother, the 868L. Good enough for my modest system. ;-)

EAR 912

I came from a ARC Ref 1 and the EAR is a better sounding unit in my system, to my ears. 
A stunningly good piece of gear. Tone, texture, soundstage and PRaT are spot on. I have it driving an Einstein The Power Amp. Great combination. 
I listen to Jazz, Rock, Classical, Pop, Bluegrass, Ambient...

Lots of things come and go in my system but the Don Sachs 2,pre amp stays for less that 3k it will compete way beyond its price point in the 7k to 10k category 

I'm about to pull the trigger on the LTA z40 intrgrated amp.  Coming from SS or D class, I'm told I will be blown away. 

Don Sachs all in pre.  
Or you can get an LTA integrated or separates and have plenty of cash to spare.  I have the Don Sachs paired with the LTA ZOTL 10 and its stunning.

There has been a Shindo Vosne-Romanee lurking about Audiogon for a few weeks.

listed at 12k.  That is an amazing pre for well under your 15k budget.

like other posters I would also consider the 

Shindo Masseto can be found on here a few times a year usually at about half your budget.  The shindo line goes Auregies, Monbrison (regularly found on here for $4500-6k), Masseto, Vosne-Romanee, then a couple more above that but very rare.  The Masseto and the Vosnee are stunning.  especially if you can get a good deal on used.

models by VAC

KONDO Audionote (Japan, not the UK boys.... get the real deal if you can afford it.. sublime).  Every blue moon or so a Kondo will come on here that is in your price range.

Jadis (although I personally prefer Shindo)

Air Tight.. very very good and in your price range could likely get a great pre and a phone stage

There are others I would also look at.

Maybe a CJ GAT

Wavac

Few interesting German brands: Voxativ, Viking, others

Leben

Top end Luxman

As others have said; ARC.

There are more, but that would be a good start.

remember, you said best TUBE pre amps under 15k.

Any serious "best" list would have to include those brands and lines in tube pre amps. 

sailboat

Wavac Pr-t1 
In my system clearly bested the Vitus Masterpiece, and fought a score draw with Boulder 2110.
The significantly more expensive Boulder was larger scale and has a wider envelope c/w subterranean, house-shaking bass, while the Wavac (with Amperex valves) was more musical, intimate and atmospheric....and is stunningly beautiful to behold

@jahatl513

I am glad you are pleased with your LTA microZOTL.  I think it is a fine preamp, but in my situation it was not the best fit.  Different strokes for different folks.  And our natural variability in preference and hearing make for an even richer audio community in my opinion.  
Cheers

@kiethr

The VAC Renaissance V with phono is my current preamp.  Simple remote with mute and volume provides me the convenience I desire, but still have to manually change source.  The transformer output is able to match to any power amp and currently drives my Ayre VX5/20.  Another solid feature is the phono section that VAC is know for and it performs well with my Madake, Purpleheart, or Windfeld Ti cartridge.  You should seek out a demo or at the least call VAC and speak with Kevin or Brent about your system goals.  I have owned 3 VAC preamps over the last 15 years.  Factory support is excellent no matter what level of their equipment you own.   Sorry to sound like a crazy fan but I guess I am...
Rick

There is no best anything.

The most transparent preamp I have heard is Concert Fidelity CF-080LSX2.  Can find on used market for great prices.

Here is an old review:
http://v2.stereotimes.com/post/the-concert-fidelity-cf080lsx2-hybrid-preamplifier

Mcintosh C1100, its Mc's the top of line dual chassis, dual mono config, amazing quiet.

PLEASE LISTEN: 
I can guarantee you that the MicroZOTL pre 
beats out my Pass XP30, 20, 22, and, my Conrad Johnson GAT And all other pres I’d thought we’re under $5000 giant killers. In my MicroZOTL I’m running great tubes. The 6SN7’s which to me have the sound I like. In addition the volume attenuation step in Tenuate or on the MicroZOTL is excellent and on par with both the Conrad Johnson and the pass labs although possibly not as smooth as Pass 

Herron Audio VTSP-360.

There have been a couple of mentions for VTL in this thread.
The top two models - TL-6.5 II and TL-7.5 III are both hybrid designs employing tubes and MOSFET and most importantly they are both MORE than $15K.

The sweet spot in the VTL line-up is the TL-5.5 II. This is a pure tube design. There is an option to have this model (and only this one) fitted with a tube phono section (which borrows a lot from their top of the line Phono stage). With the optional phono card installed this should squeak under your budget and it certainly will if ordered as just a line stage.

It also has a full function remote (machined out of a piece of alloy).

Aesthetics are personal and many here don't worry too much about them, but if you do then the VTL looks like a fairly modern, sleek unassuming box. There are no tubes on display, and no grab handles on the front.

I always thought I would miss preamp tubes if I crossed over to the dark side, but I recently went from an LTA MicroZOTL preamp to Pass XP-20 and have not looked back.  Details emerged, stage grew bigger (especially higher), and most importantly for me, my noise floor dropped like a lead balloon.  Tubes are great, but you might benefit from considering SS as well (particularly if, like me, you have any electrical gremlins that can be exacerbated by tubes - particularly in the preamp where the signal is of lower amplitude).  

I got both Aesthetix Eclipse and Atma-sphere MP-1. Both are excellent tube preamp. Different character but both are superb performers.

Exemplar audio XP-2 (15 K) , in view of most, who have heard this preammp, is as good as most preamps up to 35 K. It has vishay naked resistors & Urushi capacitors. I compared it to the stock Wavac PRT1 & it definitely to my ears was overall more musical & better . I still have PRT1 , but modified all resistors to Audio Note Tantalum silver resistors & Electrolytic caps to Audio Note Kesai. ( No Other Caps to change) , Only then the PRT1 sounds superior.
I compared Exemplar XP-2 n my previous life, to CJ ACT 2 & preferred the XP-2
I improved XP-2 further by bypass Audio Note Silver caps
The rest of my system;
Speakers Giya 2, Power Amps; Audio-Music 833 MKII, Silver Ultima Mono blocks, Audio-Music 833 MKII, Silve editin Monblocks, Jadis JA80 25th Anniversay, Lamm 2.2 .
T/T; Roy Borgess / Kuzma 14 inch . Technics SL1000 with 3 tonearms ( the other 2 tonearms ; Axiom & SME5) . cartridges include Clearaudio Goldfinger Statement.
I mention the above system , to assure, who is reading this , I am qualified to have an opinion about Hi Fi ( I am X- Publisher of Hi Fi plus mag )

One other unit worth checking out is the KR Audio P 135.  It is a 45 based preamp.  Really cool unit with an unbelievable soundstage.  I personally am intrigued by the idea of pairing this preamp with a Chord Ultima 6.  I think it would be an incredible combo.  

I am a KR Dealer but you guys should check out the review on this one.  Worth the read.  

The best one under 15k is the one that sounds best to you. Asking others a question like this is like asking someone what’s the best tasting pie under $15.
People tastes differ not only in what they like to hear, but also in what they like to eat. 

@mikem   I'm not sure why you'd need to spend $900 on a Freya when you have a perfectly acceptable iPhone and earbuds that sound just fine. 

@pani thanks for your post

@mikem I'm not sure why you care how I spend my money. And I'm almost certain you've never compared the Freya to a top of the line preamp. If you have direct experience, go ahead and enlighten us. 

15K for a pre amp...  how much of that is just Jewelery for looks ?
Schiit Freya + is all you need.. spend the  $14.1K Left over on music..

@haabitat Get a balanced tube preamp for your amp.


If you get one that supports the balanced line standard then you will have a fair amount of immunity to the sound of the interconnect cables. FWIW most balanced line products in high end audio don't support the standard. ARC is a good example.

I like this relevant discussion and would also like to ask for some kind of advice.

I have the latest version of the McIntosh C22 preamplifier, with tone controls and such, hooked up to an ARC GS150 amp and Wilson DAW speakers. My source is an Esoteric X-01xs...all cabling Nordost and Synergistic Research (Euphoria!), except have not found great speaker cables yet... Not trying to hijack the thread, my apologies. Since I have an Esoteric SACD/Cd player as a source, I am trying to figure out the preamp...

Tried several and judged them to be this or that compared to this and that, then the Modwright 36.5 with NOS tube made me cry.   Your experience may vary.  Might be better at this or that.

@keithr, Since you are coming from a Music First Audio TVC preamp, you will value a preamp that's not colored or voiced I guess. Shindo, Audio Note, CJ and the likes are all very voiced products. They have a strong house sound. 
At least I have used them all and found it that way. If you want a really good preamp without voicing and full range, direct sound, check out Wavac PR-Z1 or PRT-1. Fast, natural, glowing sound without voicing. 

Don Sachs new custom line pre.  It bested my Pass X-22, ARC-6se, and PSA-BHK... in my system.  Your mileage may vary. 

I listened to a number of tube preamps in the $7K to $10K range ($15K is outside of my budget) and landed on Balanced Audio Technology (BAT).  What a fantastic design philosophy, and sonically it delivers a phenomenal soundstage with imaging that is a mile deep.  Sonically I find that everything about it is, well, just right.  The VK-33SE is $10K but you can go up from there to the VK-53SE at $15K.
They do operate with a remote, which comes in the box.  A very well made, all aluminum remote that is not cluttered but has just the right amount of function controls.  A very cool feature on the remote is a "fade mute" function.  One touch button and the volume fades away rather than a hard mute (though there is a total mute function, too).  You only realize how wonderful that feature is once you have it.  The preamp features are great, but it's the sound quality that got me.  I am surprised not to have seen others mention the BAT brand.  It's very well reviewed and regarded in this industry.

+1 for the Vinnie Rossi
Have loved Vinnie’s work since Red a Wine Audio. He really knows what music sounds like and is able to infuse that.
My other very high recommendation is Audible Illusions.
A rare company that has specialized in only making preamps for decades. They have kept improving and have been listed in TAS at “the best at any price” forever. I happily live with mine. Ultra neutral with only one tube pre channel in single ended with an external power supply. 

With a 15k budget, I would seriously consider the Vinnie Rossi L2 Signature Preamplifier.  Perhaps a demo/used can be had for less than your budget.

VTL 7.5III hybrid tube preamp. It's a linestage with one pair of 12au7's in the gain stage. Fantastic sounding pre.

Lots of MicroZOTL fans - very interesting. 

I should add that I require remote. That probably takes half the suggestions off the table.

To those making fun of the price range, I just wanted to be all-inclusive and the ARC Ref 6 lists around that much which most consider a standard-setting piece. I actually own a Music First Baby Reference TVC that doesn't cost half that and sounds amazing - but it doesn't work with a particular amp in my stable. Hence the need to acquire another preamp.

Since no one else has mentioned them, VTL makes some great sounding preamps under your budget. You don’t say if you want a built in phono stage, but they offer with or without. 

Linear Tube Audio MicroZotl 

I posted a power amp by Jadis in error but it's still a great amp and the one I would have.I remember Richie Favia's system in the 80's at Longplayer Stereo where hr had a Jadis preamp into a Defy 7 amp with Martin Logan CLS's with Kinnergetics subs which were six feet high.I think he had a Sota Sapphire turntable and I can't remember what CD player he had.Great sound.

Audio by Van Alstine Transcendence 10 SLR - $1299. Replace the stock EH 6922s with a pair of platinum grade National/Matsushita 7DJ8s for $120. Enjoy.

Oops, I read it as best tube preamplifier under $1.5k.