Thinking out loud: solid state Linestage < $2k?

I get it.      Happy hunting!

@rodman99999  thanks, I have a Schiit SYS I ran for more than a year that worked fine other than only having a single set of outputs. It was definitely quiet but kind of boring. I definitely need 2 sets of outputs.

With around a hundred Watts and Klipsch speakers; I’d go passive, too.      I was a minimalist, for decades.      One of the purest presentations I ever had, was with a Placette in my system.      Virtually nothing to break/go wrong, as well.      ie: https://tmraudio.com/components/preamplifiers/placette-audio-passive-line-stage-stereo-preamplifier-...      New: just slightly over budget:    http://www.placetteaudio.com/passive_line.htm      What I owned:  http://www.placetteaudio.com/remote_control.htm          As an experiment, you could try something like this, first: https://www.amazon.com/Nobsound-Precision-Passive-Controller-Preamplifier/dp/B07GRLV7XG

@patrickdowns the LDR V2 is very interesting. Certainly under budget. 
Thanks I will definitely rabbit hole this out

The LDR3000P is Tortuga Audio’s flagship passive preamp
https://tortugaaudio.com/products/passive-preamps/ldr3000p-v25-passive-preamp/

Or their other passive: Tortuga LDR3.V2 Passive Preamplifier
https://tortugaaudio.com/products/passive-preamps/ldr300x-v3-preamp/

REVIEW: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/tortuga-ldr3v2k-passive-preamplifier/

Wyred 4 Sound STP-SE which is on sale. Owned one for seven years and it plays and sounds great with anything. Also there is the ability to upgrade it in the future.

https://wyred4sound.com/products/pre-amps/stp-se

Works with your amp as I've used it with Kismet and Khartago in the past.  The AVA is also a great choice just not as flexible for the future.

@ebm under $2k? I wish. 

PASS jump on ASAP!!

@soix  good question. I think I’m wanting a not laid back presentation. 
It makes sense in my head but I’m not sure I can put that into words.

@jjss49  the solid state Vision SLR pretty much ticks all the boxes. That may very well be my next.

What exactly do you mean by “a little forward in Presentation?”  Are you looking for a lot of detail or are you talking about an upfront soundstage?

van alstine products are excellent and provide tremendous performance and value