Help me decide on phono preamp

I think I am hearing what I feared / anticipated.  Not sure where I draw the line in terms of a budget.  I know there are several popular choices at or above $2,500.  I am not ready to make this leap.  Is there anything new or used in the $1,000- $1,500 (max) that would be a contender?

I have read a little about the Chinook and a couple of other tube preamps (Allnic) but not clear how much influence tube preamp will have when ahead of a SS integrated. 

Another candidate I have considered but is fairly new to the market is the Parasound JC3 Jr - the little brother to the well regarded JC3+. Not sure what is given up with the JR but new price is $1,500.

any thoughts on the tube question or the Parasound options? 

Read some more on the Chinook. Many threads on tube rolling. Leads me to a couple of questions:

What is the typical lifespan of tubes? How do you know when they are going bad?

A number of tube threads on phono preamps relate to “noisy” tubes.  Is this an issue with noise emanating from the tube itself or noise in the signal and heard through the speakers?

Is there an issue with the stock Chinook tubes?  There are a lot of threads about swapping tubes to improve sound/ performance. Is this something I should plan on having to do eventually, ie stick tubes are Chevys not Porsches? 

My only tube experience is with my guitar amps where the mfg uses very basic tubes but there is meaningful  sonic changes with aftermarket tubes. However these are usually fairly inexpensive ( $60 total cost) compared to some tubes recommended for Chinook ($500-$800). I would expect the choice by Manley (6922’s) would have optimized their design performance goals.

Thoughts? 

Well I managed to find a good deal on a gently used Chinook and picked it up this morning. I plan to try it out later this week at my beach house where I have a second system.  I will also try to compare it to both the internal phono stage in my Marantz as well as a Nova Phonomena.  I hope I will hear a meaningful improvement in SQ that justifies the price.

BTW - also purchased an Ortofon Cadenza Bronze MC cartridge along with the Chinook SE. Not installed yet, but looking forward to this soon. 

Never ended up comparing to the Nova and not sure there is much in the way of scientific evaluation in my comparison to the built in phono stage in the Marantz. The Marantz was evaluated by reviewers ( Absolute Sound among others) as having an exceptionally good phonostage. The Chinook elevated the listening experience of my system to another level. I was so impressed that I jumped on the opportunity to buy a Chinook SE  that had a significant tube upgrade by the previous owner. This made a still more revealing enhancement to the clarity and richness of my setup. I will use the original Chinook in my main system ( although, since I am  finding lots of excuses for extended weekends at the beach houses, I suppose I should consider this my main system).

Time to put the Nova up for sale.