Yes, Coda has made some fine gear. I believe their key personnel formerly worked for Nelson Pass at Threshold.
I've been very happy with a Classe CP-60 I purchased here not too long ago, well within your price range. It has both balanced xlr and unbalanced interfaces. There is another one available here now, for a bit more. They sold new for a bit under $4K about 11 years ago.
Also, used Klyne preamps show up now and then, and are very high quality, but I don't recall if they offered balanced i/o.
A key consideration, of course, is whether or not you want an internal phono stage. It was an option on my CP-60, but most of the ones I've seen for sale (including the one I purchased) don't have one.
I've been very happy with a Classe CP-60 I purchased here not too long ago, well within your price range. It has both balanced xlr and unbalanced interfaces. There is another one available here now, for a bit more. They sold new for a bit under $4K about 11 years ago.
Also, used Klyne preamps show up now and then, and are very high quality, but I don't recall if they offered balanced i/o.
A key consideration, of course, is whether or not you want an internal phono stage. It was an option on my CP-60, but most of the ones I've seen for sale (including the one I purchased) don't have one.