try a vintage tube hifi preamp. more character that the modern stuff made in china. i dont like the avalon u5. it has preset tone controls. its either flat or someone elses eq settings. and you wont get tube (even order harmonics) grunge from it. the summit looks decent though. hey, search 12ax7 preamplifier on ebay. they have these chrome preamps from the 60's all the time on there i have one to play with. make sure its not just for phono, it would have too much gain. mine has a phono/tape switch and made by lafayette. here is mine. no volume control, but you can change the gain with different tubes. 12au7/12at7 ect. not a bad toy for 50-85$ including tube. and its handwired point to point, no circuit board. i mainly use it to get low gain 60's guitaramps to go into distortion, but it may add some character in your situation. whoops, my pic wont load. here is a link so you can see one. this one went cheap!
Tube 12AX7 Lafayette Phono Turntable Tape Preamp Pre | eBay johnny a staind
