Hi end tube preamps, it’s all about functionality!!

Right.  Don't know the price yet, but I'll pay more than I am asked to pay for it in order to compensate the builder for the ridiculously low price of the awesome two 2x6BL7 & 4xKT77 monoblocks that he built for me.

Agreed about the single tube.  I talked to the builder (Charlie Cocci) about using two, one for each channel...possibly even using just one triode per tube per channel like the Dodd Battery Powered Preamp (my current preamp) does, but he says that in this circuit nothing would be gained by doing that.  Based on how impressive his amps are, I'm inclined to let the builder build the thing the way he thinks it's best to build it.

Truth is he's actually building two preamps for me; the other one being a modified (less circuitry) version of Eric Barbour's Brute Force linestage (https://headwizememorial.wordpress.com/2018/03/19/brute-force-in-a-line-stage/).  I get to keep whichever one I like most.  Should be fun!

There is a important market for stereo listening at a high quality level and home theater in a combined system.

‘all’ it takes is passing a signal thru the preamp painlessly to allow sharing of mains between stereo and home theatre.  Options, sadly are very limited. Brilliant minds will be able to achieve this outcome.

soon, I hear audio research will be working on a feature to do a direct pass thru (ie. bypass tube circuitry) and thereby keep the tubes off.  This will no doubt improve their $6 mil revenue and they can probably do this in a transparent way.

will gladly pay extra for this outcome.

How many different titles to threads regarding preamps has the OP written?  Personally, I don't think this person will buy another preamp, seems like wishful thinking.  

Emerging- the marketplace for people with high quality home theater systems AND high performance 2 channel stereo systems is quite small.  Most in that arena have home theater Rooms and if they are really into music, also have a listening room for both the system and the library of ()take your choice of format) music.  Sure there are a few that combine both, but now you are throwing in a tube pre into the mix, which makes it even smaller and you want the tube pre to have a full function remote.  You already have your answer - the Backert Labs Rhythm 1.3 does all that and does it extremely well, but now you would like to put an Audio Research badge on it.  Either wait until ARC builds it the way you want or buy the Backert Labs, but PLEASE stop complaining about your plight.

These two types of consumers are a contradiction to each other.

One wants low noise, the other adds noise and ruins the music.

Been there and done that with expensive high end integrated preamp-processors used for two channel audio and hi-fi home theater. Adding a "direct" bypass button just adds more junk in the circuitry, noise. A well known audio company who started with 2ch audio eventually went out of business trying to keep both types of customers happy, software and firmware upgrades, bleh.  

Buy a sound bar, be done.