What Tube Preamplifier Under $1800 to Choose?

I had a Rogue RP-1… Hated It… Yes you can roll tubes but I never got to the point I enjoyed what came out of it. The built in phono pre never loosened up and the display went erratic on me. Finally sent it back taking a hit of a 20% restocking fee, luckily the dealer took it back after the allotted return window.

i went on to purchase a Tubes 4 Hifi SP-13 that was excellent, responded beautifully to tube rolling but a year or so later I sold everything and purchased Odyssey Audio Kismet Mono blocks & his Candela Preamp and have been happy sound wise since. Found NOS 1960 GE 5814 TriMica Black Plate Tubes sounded fantastic in the Candela out of all the tube rolling I’ve done and are now my go to tubes. 

+1 for the RP-1

+3  Schiit Freya+

You might want to look for a preowned Aric Audio 6SN7 Linestage. If not, the DeHavilland posted earlier is a great choice.

Audio by Van Alstine. Frequent winner of affordable award winners from magazines that don't require advertising and very good set of choices, all built here in Minnesota.  https://avahifi.com/  

I am very happy with the sound of my older Transcendence 10 (not RB) tube preamp with more options than standard RB and built-in adjustable phono preamp.

Here is their guarantee for an almost free one month trial :

We have complete confidence in the design, workmanship, and musical quality of our audio components. Thus, on new AVA-built electronics, we offer you a 30-day satisfaction guarantee, subject only to these reasonable conditions:

• You must call for return authorization before shipping to us.
• Equipment must be received back to us in new condition, with all accessories and packing, within 30 days of our original shipping date to you.
• Returns must be shipped to us with freight and, where required, customs brokerage fees prepaid. Shipping charges, customs fees, and customs brokerage fees will not be reimbursed or refunded as these costs cannot be recovered.
• You will be refunded the purchase price of the item you are returning less our actual payment processing fees. These are typically about 3%.