Best 6NS7 Preamp for a Pass Labs XA25 amp

@skiroe  Greetings! I was notified that my name had popped up and wanted to chime in briefly. Yes, I am the same Aric Audio that was selling tube buffers on eBay a little over ten years ago. I was a solid state guy back then and used very low efficiency DIY speakers. Believe it or not, I used to use QSC pro sound amplification upwards of 500 watts per channel in my rig and hence my first tube buffer stage was just what the system needed to add a "touch of soul" to the music. Amazingly now I find that 20 "well done" watts, with the right speakers is a much more satisfying combo (IMHO). Prior to and during that time, I worked in commercial AV installation in government facilities as a subcontractor for one of the largest AV firms in Boston, MA. Essentially I've been involved in absolutely anything and everything audio related since I was about 7 years old. Once my daughter became an adult and moved out on her own I moved away from the field work and decided to focus exclusively on learning, tweaking and building tube gear. Now close to 50 I love what I do, and  I do it everyday. Keeping in contact with clients and hearing their impressions of the gear I build is the icing on the cake. I'm not sure if there was another question, but I wanted to address that it is one and the same Aric Audio. Best regards, Aric

@aricaudio   thanks for checking in.     Well,  it helps my aging brain to jump start memory recall to hear you are one and the same.     I will have to check out your web page some more.  

@skiroe thank you, Aric

I'm finding this to be a very interesting thread; thanks to you all for the helpful posts. I too have a Pass amp, and X150 in my case, and am considering a new tube line stage preamp. I'm now using an early Conrad Johnson preamp, a PV4, and very much appreciate it's sound characteristics, but would like to have xlr connection options and a remote would be pretty nice, too.
The OP mentioned something like "...no Schitt kit", and I'm curious as to why so? I have not heard one, but from specs, the few but positive reviews available, and very reasonable price, I agree with wolf_garcia that it is an attractive option. So, I'd be interested to hear any specifics as to why the other options mentioned above, especially those say under $2k, would be preferable.
Thanks.
p.s. rest of my system includes a Pass Labs Aleph Ono phono stage, Thorens TD160 w/Soundsmith Boheme, Cambridge CD transport, Schiit Bifrost multibit DAC, Vandersteen 2Ce Sigs.

I also have the Aric Audio Motherload preamp with phono stage and Dueland caps. I have been very happy with it.