Clearly you should seek out the best engineering and scientific perspectives on this question which means you should choose a pre-amp that delivers exceptional measureable performance. There are so many exceptional performers out there. You can consult resources like Audio Science Review to learn more about amplification and audible thresholds. There are also useful notes on source switching noise and power-on behavior.
Professional engineering and science has not found much value in high cost cables, alas, but very high quality pre-amps for reasonable prices are quite easily obtainable.