Zhyn-
I wasn't trying to knock your choices. I think you've got good ones (I've never hear the speakers myself, so I don't know). If I recall some of the other pre-amps mentioned above are a little less than the Azur 540A. I personally think the 540 looks nicer, which is why I choose it...vanity vanity.

For the budget you're mentioning, If you conserve on the pre-amp (or a receiver) you can aim pretty high for bookshelfs (maybe even, say Paradigm Studio 20's over the Mini Monitors, for example.) In the long run I think you'll be happier. If you think you might want to eventually build a home theater system out of this, you might think about an entry level Yamaha or Denon receiver over the pre-amp.