VAC Preamp

I've had a VAC Standard LE and didn't find it "tubey" at all. In my system, I directly compared it to a $10K Thor pre and the VAC at 1/2 the price won me over. Excellent detail, imaging and most of all, musicality. High quality build and excellent support from VAC are the icing. The Renaissance sound like the best fit for you, as others above had mentioned. Good luck.
P.S. - I now have a Phi 2.0 pre and a Phi 300.1 amp on order.

I don't believe that the VAC standard preamp features a truly balanced (fully differential balanced) circuit, but rather, has a single-ended circuit with a few XLR connections. This would not at all be a bad thing -- balanced circuitry in audiophile equipment is of arguable utility.

The VAC Renaissance preamps evidently do feature a fully balanced circuit.

My first separate preamp was a used VAC standard. I liked it enough to stay with VAC gear for thirty years now. As far as quality goes, everything they make is built like the proverbial brick shithouse. It is all heirloom level stuff. Furthermore, their customer support is second to none. The owner, has spent time on the phone with me diagnosing issues even though I was not the original owner, and the unit was out of warranty. 

As far as "tubey" goes.... That really depends on what you mean. Do tubes sound different than solid state? Yes, although the gap has been steadily narrowing. Will you prefer one to the other? Probably, but which one will be entirely up to you. Everything distorts, so it's really a matter of picking your poison. Audition all you can. If you don't like the VAC Standard you should have no trouble selling it for a good price, as VACs tend hold their value.