Backert Rhumba 1.3 vs Herron Reference?

I've not, but can certainly attest to the quality of the Herron 360 preamp; I bought both this line stage preamp and a phono preamp from Keith about 4 years ago, and have had no desire to upgrade from them. I hope you find somebody who has heard both of them you're asking about... 

Something else to keep in mind is that Backert Labs would still seem to be going, whereas Keith Herron has retired....