What is a very nice sounding tube preamp?

I own a Vac Standard and have to say it is a very good preamp.
I have tens of thousands of equipment. And the VAC Standard is a match.
I have mine AC from a Furman REF20i via a Pangea AC9SE powercord.
I paid $1,400 for mine here. With the upgrade that one has YES grab it.
The VAC Standard has a separate power supply, and is RCA in out only. four tubes two 12Au7 and two 12AX7. Runs very cool. I leave mine on 24/7 thhree years now.
It really IS a $4,000 preamp.
That is only the second one I have seen. I bought the first. So they are rare enough not to pass up.

In addition to the previous recommendations, all very sound,

I own a new , Jolida Fusion, owned a Audible Illusion 3a bought used. Both at your price point and very good. You might also consider Quicksilver.

Enjoy and let us know your choice.

The Joule Electra LA-150 SE and the LA-300 ME are both excellent. I recommend trying to get a used LA-150 SE, get new tubes and you'll be in audio nirvana.

Quicksilver real nice!

You really need to take a close look at the Eastern Electric Avant... I bought one a few months back and honestly, it's one of the best values ever. The sound is truly amazing! Now, is it perfect? No... the balanced input is marked XRL... but heck, that's about the only thing I can fault, and I can really live with that!