Need under $1500 preamp for my system

I schlepped my Freya to a friend's house to compare it to an ARC Reference 5 preamp, and we both though the Freya in its tube mode sounded every bit as good. I use NOS GEs in the thing (tried many others leading to a clogged tube drawer), and although it supposedly has a flexing circuit board, I chalk that up to people who don't know how to remove tubes as gently moving the tube back and forth allows them to easily come right out...never try to remove them with your teeth or with small explosive charges. Covering the top of the tubes with peanut butter and getting the dog to dig them out is also a bad idea, as well as violently shaking the thing upside down (the Freya, not the dog) hoping the tubes just fall out. These tips are provided to help people, and yeah...you're welcome.

I need the 12db (or whatever it is) gain from my Freya to get my SEP power amp off the ground (it could be that Dennis Had designed my little tube amp for higher gain preamps...like the ones he makes)...it does work with the other lower gain settings but the tube gain really digs out the mojo of my power amp.

I've owned a Freya "original series" preamp for a couple of years and it's excellent...possibly not expensive enough for some, but so well designed there's really nothing not to like (don't like tubes? turn 'em off...), and nobody makes anything like it. No need to "upgrade," just have some fun trying different tubes.