Not knowing the price of the Pass preamp you mentioned, but personally I've had great synergy driving the Rowland 2/BPS 2 with Hovland HP100 preamp. Good luck.
As for the XLR input, yes Rowland gears have pin 2 as "hot" and I just rewired the interconnect. I know this might not be the most preferred method so good luck.
As for the XLR input, yes Rowland gears have pin 2 as "hot" and I just rewired the interconnect. I know this might not be the most preferred method so good luck.