Tubed Preamp recommendations?

Op, I use the Freya Plus and upgraded the tubes with Ken Rad VT 231 & Melz 1578. Zero microphonics, have no trouble rolling tubes and the sound  is superb. I will upgrade to either the Sachs or Supratek later this year but will not sell the Freya Plus, it will move to a second system. Adding 300.00 in better tubes gets you in your budget.
Having a "stand by" mode for the tubes allows me to leave my entire system on 24/7 with no tube rush powering up. Granted it is not a 3500 dollar pre but with the right tubes, it makes the magic happen.

Still entry level..no trigger option, ON-OFF function is annoying...even with best tube rolling you the SQ of Frea + is not comparable with CJ, AR, Cary Audio or Modwright..

Look for a CJ PV-1. You can find them for $600/800. They sound fantastic .

Surfmuz...if anyone is incapable of reaching over a Freya (which has room for this since the tubes demand the room) to switch it on I sympathize...mine turns on from the power conditioner anyway, although I do switch it off if I want the other items (non tube) to stay on. I don't think this is generally a widespread complaint. I actually have compared my Freya (original version) to other, more "precious" preamps including ARCs and others and it holds its own, and in fact sounds a lot better than many. It is an astonishingly good preamp that's far less expensive than most, mine has had zero issues with microphonics with any of the various tubes I've tried, and cherry picking complaints from here and there is meaningless when compared to the overwhelming success reported by many happy Freya owners. I can only assume you haven't actually compared a Freya to the preamps you've mentioned, or you lack the experience to understand what you're listening to.

@ WOLF--GARCIA, I concur. My Freya+ is great. But i am thinking, with the power button on the back will i go deaf? :)