I seem to agree with some of the principles here, but not many of the recommendations. Keeping the signal simple is a good one. Ditching the mid-fi receiver is another (sorry).
Aside from a vinyl record player, most input devices, even quite ancient ones e.g. cassette, reel to reel output at "line level" of around 1v and have fairly standard output impedance (a bit brave, but bear with me). Some newer inputs e.g. DVD, BD, DAB may substantially exceed this (often up to 2v). Consider what a pre-amp "does". Given decent inputs, all a pre-amp really does is to switch from one input to another and adjust the volume (downwards) from line level (or whatever the input level is). So all you need is an input switch and a volume control, neither of which involves tubes at all. It is partly audio "philosophy" but IMHO, at best a pre-amp should be passive and should interfere as little as possible with the sound. So, you can get high quality input switching modules from China with gold-plated relay contacts for $25 (e-Bay). You can spend $700 on a Stephens&Billington transformer-based volume control or $500 on a fixed resistor stepped volume control, both of which are excellent solutions, however, on a budget, the best value for money solution I know is a motorised ALPS Blue-velvet volume control from Germany for $35. You can then get a remote control board and transmitter to switch the inputs and control the volume via the motor from your armchair for another $20 (e-Bay). This leaves 2½ issues: Phono stage - get a cheap solid state stand-alone one for $30 e.g. http://www.maplin.co.uk/stereo-phono-pre-amplifier-28732 . You can spend $000's on a phono stage, but we are just experimenting here, right? Second issue, tone control: Tone control should only be used to correct deficiencies in input quality. It is not required for phono, any digital input like CD or FM radio. It can be useful with poor cassette tapes or reel to reel tapes which have deteriorated over time and repeated playback. Again here, what adjusts tone is essentially inductance, capacitance and resistance (LCR) networks - no tubes. These are pretty simple, but if you don't feel comfortable making them, you can probably get a cheap solid state or passive unit. Plug it in between your deficient input and the switching unit. This yanks the budget up a bit, but Musical Fidelity offer a stand-alone tube-based tone control unit called an X-Tone. You can get one of these (the Mark 2 version) for around $200 on e-Bay. Last issue - impedance-matching: All this takes is two resistors per device before the input switch - again no tubes - and I would venture to guess you won't need to do it anyway.
So we have elimiated a lot of noise and distortion (and tubes) from the pre-amp zone. If you still want tubes (I use them), you could get a tube-based power amp. You can get an entry-level built module from China (e-Bay) for $45 or a more professional finished version in a case for $200. You can probably find some worthwhile tweaks and mods on the internet if you want to upgrade this to sound better.
Aside from a vinyl record player, most input devices, even quite ancient ones e.g. cassette, reel to reel output at "line level" of around 1v and have fairly standard output impedance (a bit brave, but bear with me). Some newer inputs e.g. DVD, BD, DAB may substantially exceed this (often up to 2v). Consider what a pre-amp "does". Given decent inputs, all a pre-amp really does is to switch from one input to another and adjust the volume (downwards) from line level (or whatever the input level is). So all you need is an input switch and a volume control, neither of which involves tubes at all. It is partly audio "philosophy" but IMHO, at best a pre-amp should be passive and should interfere as little as possible with the sound. So, you can get high quality input switching modules from China with gold-plated relay contacts for $25 (e-Bay). You can spend $700 on a Stephens&Billington transformer-based volume control or $500 on a fixed resistor stepped volume control, both of which are excellent solutions, however, on a budget, the best value for money solution I know is a motorised ALPS Blue-velvet volume control from Germany for $35. You can then get a remote control board and transmitter to switch the inputs and control the volume via the motor from your armchair for another $20 (e-Bay). This leaves 2½ issues: Phono stage - get a cheap solid state stand-alone one for $30 e.g. http://www.maplin.co.uk/stereo-phono-pre-amplifier-28732 . You can spend $000's on a phono stage, but we are just experimenting here, right? Second issue, tone control: Tone control should only be used to correct deficiencies in input quality. It is not required for phono, any digital input like CD or FM radio. It can be useful with poor cassette tapes or reel to reel tapes which have deteriorated over time and repeated playback. Again here, what adjusts tone is essentially inductance, capacitance and resistance (LCR) networks - no tubes. These are pretty simple, but if you don't feel comfortable making them, you can probably get a cheap solid state or passive unit. Plug it in between your deficient input and the switching unit. This yanks the budget up a bit, but Musical Fidelity offer a stand-alone tube-based tone control unit called an X-Tone. You can get one of these (the Mark 2 version) for around $200 on e-Bay. Last issue - impedance-matching: All this takes is two resistors per device before the input switch - again no tubes - and I would venture to guess you won't need to do it anyway.
So we have elimiated a lot of noise and distortion (and tubes) from the pre-amp zone. If you still want tubes (I use them), you could get a tube-based power amp. You can get an entry-level built module from China (e-Bay) for $45 or a more professional finished version in a case for $200. You can probably find some worthwhile tweaks and mods on the internet if you want to upgrade this to sound better.