Fantasy or reality? Inexpensive solid state preamps that get you 80% there?

If possible to take the price out of the equation for a moment, I suspect you’ll find you can get more than 80% results by simply comparing preamps and selecting the one you like best. And if that comparison is blind, I’d guess the odds of your grail being affordable is quite good. 
 

Many who equate SQ to price will disagree with me but I find that in high end audio, you often do not get what you paid for. You may get polished aluminum faceplates and heavy remote controls, but with your eyes closed, the reality is much different. 
 

choose wisely and remember, you do not need to blow your child’s college education to achieve a stunning music system. 

I wanted a preamp with remote volume control.  I had been using an APT Holman, which is very good for a vintage solid state unit, but no remote control.

I did try the Freya+, twice, in my bedroom system.  Both units were defective from the factory.

Yes, Schiit sent a second set of tubes right away, then replaced the unit.  They also quickly refunded the purchase after the second unit was also bad.

The solid state sections sounded nice,  The remote was nice.  The tube section on both was crap.  Tried all kinds of tubes, so not the tubes.

Tried the Topping Pre90.  It sounds good.  Very neutral.  It's very small.  The remote completely sucks, the volume control is quirky.

Both the Freya+ and the Pre90 were/are dead quiet.

If anything ever happens to the Topping, the Benchmark looks like a contender.

I recently upgraded from Schiit Freya + to Pass Labs XP10. I really liked the Freya. It was a tremendous deal and a big improvement on my Cambridge Audio CXA81. But I got the upgrade bug, and replaced mySchiit with Pass Labs. The improvement is undeniable, but the Freya was more than 80% there in my opinion. I’m about to put the Freya up for sale. You can contact me if interested. 

@hilde45 not solid state, but solid state quiet, a used Rogue RP1 is an incredible value. Swap the two JJs for a pair of Brimar CV4003 from Upscale and put a good power cord on it, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Should be under $1200 for a mint condition unit on a used market. Look into it. 

I appreciate replies, but I'm not looking for $2k or $3k or $4k. I'm taking notes of everything mentioned, but in my OP, I discuss looking at Schiit stuff and other inexpensive options.

Also: Some clarifications:

I have two excellent tubed preamps. I prefer them and will use them most of the time. This is for some variety and to give my tubes a break occasionally. 

I know preamps are important.

Thanks for the other rec's!

@tjag To boost signal and volume knob. I have tried an extremely high quality autoformer and it didn't have enough gain. Things were too thin.

@wolfgarcia — that's helpful — I have the same Pass amp.

@audioman58 Thanks for the AudioGD mention. A good friend in Italy has an amazing system and after many trials, settled on AudioGD for his DAC. Very high quality stuff, but not as much PR as some other companies. Good value there, most likely.

@ghdprentice It seems my "80%"  comment is misleading. I would put it this way, instead: "What SS preamp sounds pretty decent as a backup for less that $1k?"

Compare this purchase to shoes you wear around the house. Comfortable, acceptable, but not your best or nicest shoes.