Look in the used market for:

Adcom (I owned a GTP 545, it had a good Tuner)
Rotel
NAD
Parasound (I owned a P/HP850, niced phono. No remote)
Acurus

You'll also run into some Carver stuff but personally I'd avoid it. It's really colored sonically, plus they many times tried to disguise what parts they used so when they break (and because of their age there is a good possibility of that) repairs can be difficult to impossible.

If you can find a matching Kenwood KC 208 stereo control amplifier in good condition on eBay or Craigslist that would be nice.

The AudioSource PreOne/A is $150 new and is surprisingly good. However, it does not have a phono section so you would need a phono preamp as well. The earlier PreOne did have a phono section, but they are hard to find.

A used Dynaco PAT5 BiFET in good condition might be a little over $100 as well, but it has a good phono section and was a very good preamp in its day.

Also, the Nikko Beta II and Beta I, (possibly the Beta 40 as well) with a Noble brand plastic film stepped attenuator (now a $150 item, and simply not available),and IIRC..single ended class 'A' circuitry, discrete phono amplifier and capacitor coupled circuitry. The only flaw is a tone circuit that cannot be switched out.

Re-building these units (which are available for about $75 on ebay) creates a fabulous sounding unit-for the effort and money. The switches usually need a bit of cleaning. But the switches are of a quality that only gets put on premium gear, these days.

There. I've given up one of my 'little secrets' that I use when some friend tells me they want a decent preamp at low cost.

When i do the minimum to fix them up, most folks think they totally slay the Adcom preamps in the $150-350 range, for example. This is after modding the Adcoms. The discrete circuitry in the Nikko is what seals it. This is applicable to this exact Nikko unit.

I guess folks have started to figure this out..as I JUST looked on ebay and the prices are going wild....

This image will not last long..but you will get the point.

I know this is an OLD, OLD article, but just in case anyone's looking for that "matching" Kenwood KC - 208 Amplifier/Equalizer....... I've got one I'll sell for $75. obo.. Just email me at johngw43@gmail.com and I'll get back to you.
Thanks, John "G"
P.S. I've also got a Kenwood VR - 6050 Receiver/Surround Sound, etc that I use daily, that's not even connected to the Kenwood KC - 208... it'll blow me across the room WITHOUT the KC - 208 even connected. {I don't know how to connect it, as dumb as that sound's. It take's 2 "System Control Cables" to connect the 2 unit's together, which I don't have..
I'll sell the VR - 6050 also, for the right price