Best preamp for $1000 or less with remote

Disclaimer upfront: I have one for sale.
The Bel Canto PRe3 is a fantastic preamp. About as transparent as you'll find, a pleasure to use, balanced in and out. Meets all the criteria you stated and would be a good match for the Emotiva. Read the reviews.

Would be helpful if you told us what you're using now and what sound qualities you're looking to change and/or improve upon.

Soix - I've been using a Musical Fidelity A308 for a few months now and just picked up a B&K PT3 series 2. Both are nice but looking for something with a bit more air, detail and transparency. Maybe the Bel Canto mentioned by Timrhu would be a good one to try.

That helps, and the first thing that pops to mind is something from Bryston (I own the BP-6). Thought the Adcom recommendation was a good one too, but I remember reading they had some reliability problems in the past but not sure how widespread it was. That should not be much of a concern with anything from Bryston. Best of luck.

Pass Labs Aleph Line