Looking for a preamp with XLR connections

Agree, the Schiit Freya+ is still noisy. There are lots of great options but careful system matching is always needed. What amp(s) and speakers will you pair the unit with, and what kind of tonal are you looking for?

Benchmark, Ayre, Luxman, Pass Labs all have great options in the price range and are all very different. I also know you said no tubes but the PS Audio BHK Preamplifier is a wonderful unit for the price, imparting slight tube harmonics without resulting with minimal noise. 

A. Don't trust anything ASR reports

B. Ditto

C. Ditto

Now, just because a pre has both XLR I/Os doesn't necessarily mean it is true/differentially balanced, though it should. If you are patient, people post their Audio Alchemy DDP- 1 which is both a pre and a dac. Mega write up in Absolute Sound back in March 2016. You also want the matching PS 5, outboard power supply. MSRP was ~ $2800, but often for sales ~ $1500. I've had one for about 3 years now. Every change I make to the rest of my system comes through. I saw a streamer + PS 5 FS not long ago

HTH