Looking for warm tube preamp (should pair well with Pass power amp), budget $6000

Oh and I don't need phono.

You should check out the CODA #7x preamp that I just sold. It is soon going to be upgraded with a separate power supply. It was too tubey for me but likely the perfect sound for you. It is a SS preamp so no tubes to change unless that is a negative for you. It was great with all the amps I tried it with.

@smodtactical 

I found the ref5se was a more visceral, tactile preamp with a little more flesh. I also disliked strongly the volume on ref6 which came on entirely too strong out of the gate. Zero was no sound, 10 was VERY loud. Its my understanding the ref6se update addressed this.

I’m not so sure Shindo and NS5000’s have ever been in the same system LOL. Did I miss your amplification in a prior post? In any case, I doubt anything I could add to the discussion would be of value as I have no familiarity with with your interconnects or speakers. Shindo shines when properly matched but I can’t imagine Shindo and Yamaha coexisting harmoniously.

I really like my Backert Rhumba 1.3 pre with a Pass XA30.8.  Great bass, dynamics and musicality.

@ghasley Good to hear Shindo does rock well. That makes sense actually. Thanks for your comments.