+1 @whitestix on the Sachs pre. He also offers a short in-home trial, which is a real plus, and the fact that this would be new rather than used is also kinda nice. At your price you could do lots of Don's upgrades to create a really nice pre.
On the used side, there's a nice Backert Rhumba 1.2 listed at $2400. But if you can stretch your budget just a bit there's an Allnic L3000 mkii reduced to $3700 that looks like a great buy as its listed retail is $13,000 (there are nice reviews of the original model from Audio Beat and Dagogo comparing it to other nice preamps). I have to say if I'm you I'd have a tough time passing this one up as it seems like a truly top-level and potentially end-game component -- if there is such a thing. Best of luck.
On the used side, there's a nice Backert Rhumba 1.2 listed at $2400. But if you can stretch your budget just a bit there's an Allnic L3000 mkii reduced to $3700 that looks like a great buy as its listed retail is $13,000 (there are nice reviews of the original model from Audio Beat and Dagogo comparing it to other nice preamps). I have to say if I'm you I'd have a tough time passing this one up as it seems like a truly top-level and potentially end-game component -- if there is such a thing. Best of luck.