You can certainly get into a good preamp for $700 or below. Receivers below that price point will tend to have preamp sections that are nowhere near that of a dedicated unit.
Check out Rotel, NAD, Adcom, etc...they have models in that range. The Rotels even have very good phono stages built in if you want to simplify and get rid of the Bellari. And, of course, on Audiogon and eBay you can come across some very nice vintage preamps for peanuts...we're talking $100 to $300.
In fact -- do a search now. There are Quad preamps on A'gon today between $225-$600.
Check out Rotel, NAD, Adcom, etc...they have models in that range. The Rotels even have very good phono stages built in if you want to simplify and get rid of the Bellari. And, of course, on Audiogon and eBay you can come across some very nice vintage preamps for peanuts...we're talking $100 to $300.
In fact -- do a search now. There are Quad preamps on A'gon today between $225-$600.