When I decided to splurge and buy my final preamp and get all the features I wanted I made a mental list.
home theater bypass function
built in good quality DAC
a topnotch phono stage
balanced output
ability to rename inputs and disable unused inputs
input name display clearly visible from across the room (hate little led dots under tiny labels)
tone and balance controls
The two least expensive preamps I found that I could order that had all that were the Anthem STR and the Mcintosh C49. The Anthem was $4200 and the Mac was $5000. I ended up buying the one made in America with a sterling reputation for service. In addition to all the above, it has two separately switched and buffered outputs, a fixed record out, 3 12v triggers, 2 of which can be programmed to come on with an input or inputs, a 12v input from an AVR or AV processor that automatically puts it in HT passthrough. It helps that it looks great.
$5000 doesn’t seem like a bargain and you can certainly get things that sound as good for less money. However, nothing I could find has all those features for significantly less.