i'm kinda looking for the same thing,
first i had the joemeek twinq in mind, but since i don't really like the eq on my joemeek vc8 i think i'll go for a seperate preamp and seperate eq,
the dmp3 seems to be quite transparant and clean,
if i connect a nice fully parametric eq to that i think i got something nice,
but it even seems nicer to have two tampa's, but i don't think you can stereolink those
D&R makes a 2 channel preamp in that price range if you want really clean and very deep. Luckily you are getting just barealy into the price range where you can find a 2 channel preamp that is actually an upgrade to the cheap consoles
I believe the general population around here always leans toward the FMR RNP as suggested above for an under 500 dollar preamp...i dont have one personally so I cant say if its good...but ive been meaning to get one for sometime now...