Suggestions for a tube pre and power amp

@mrsprinkles that's my understanding about balanced vs unbalanced as well.  Some gear may be optimized for one type vs the other. 

All of my preamps over the years have only had unbalanced (NAD 1300, two different conrad-johnson, and my LTA MicroZotl).  My amp has always been close to my preamp, so no need for long cables.

I tried a $200 Audioquest balanced cable between my dac and preamp, but it didn't sound great.  I'm sure it's a result of the cable, not the connection type.  I really like my unbalanced Black Cat Silverstar88 cables (these are impossible to find today).  

If Aric will adjust the impedance on the XLR’s, tailor the Pre to match the Amp, whatever the OP decides on, that’s likely to lead to a magical combo.  That level of access, customization is hard to beat.

@mrsprinkles May be it helps in reducing the noise due to common mode noise cancellation. I am really not sure.

But volume matching between single ended connection and xlr is also little difficult to do. May be if we have couple of friends then can do SPL matching and check the difference. 

I understand it is hand made however wait time of 3.5 months is bit high. I remember Salk speaker when I order also it was something similar wait time. When you hear 3 months of wait time it looks high but in reality time goes very fast.

@mm1tt77 I do agree it is a good thing to get that level of customization from any manufacturer. Impedance and gain match between preamp and power amp is very important.

If you're okay with used, I second the vote for ARC Ref Series or some of it's main competitors (it's what I'd own if I didn't like BAT so much): 

BAT VK-52SE    $3,000–$5,000 - Can be be upgraded to the Rex series (and there's a BAT Rex Preamp on USAM for $7,000) 

BAT VK-53SE    $6,500–$9,000

VTL TL-7.5 Series II    $8,000–$11,000

VAC Renaissance Mk V    $7,000–$9,000

You can't go wrong with any of these.  Sweet spot in terms of pricing is the VK-52SE.