@montaldo So many knowledgeable members have offered great suggestions. I doubt that I have much more to offer. In light of all the great suggestions relating to ground loops, critical components and I/Cs near house 120v/60Hz lines, and the like, ... I assume that grounding and ordinary 60 cycle hum issues are not the problem. But here are few other simple ideas:
1. Are you sure the preamp is working properly. You posted that:
I had my local tech hook up the preamp on his bench and it is quiet as a mouse. I've also corresponded with its designer, David Berning, who has been very responsive and helpful. But no luck solving it.
Ok, but have you sent the preamp back to the factory for a complete check-up. I own ARC gear and some of my pieces were getting long in the tooth. Even though I do not like shipping my gear to anyone ... period ..., one of my ARC pieces had a problem so I sent everything back to the factory for a check-up. What a nightmare. To my total surprise, all the tubes (almost new) in one piece were toast. ARC replaced all the tubesin the unit. Go figure.
2. Incompatibility? Let assume that your pre is in proper working order, is there some oddball incompatibility with your amp and pre? Have you tried swapping out your preamp with a temporary borrowed pre and then checked to see if the hum went away. If you still have the hum problem, same with the amp.
3. Upstream Issues? I assume you already isolated upstream source gear so you are satisfied that the hum is sourced to only the pre or amp.
I apologize in advance if the above suggestions were already offered by others. Just seems to me that a rig should not pass a hum unless (1) there is an external 60Hz signal that is inducing the hum in your rig, (2) there is a grounding issue, or (3) there is a problem with your gear.
Good luck and keep us informed. Happy New Year.
BIF