"O Perfect Preamp, wherefore art thou?"

TRON Syren is her name.

Doshi Alaap
VAC Ren or Ren sig.

The Dodd Battery pre fits the bill except for the phono pre.

To travel hopefully is better than to arrive.

bypassing cinema can be achieved by level matching speakers via connections from your processor to the Aux inputs and using that setting when you watch movies.

i 2nd the dodd.....fantastic unit..tho u would have to order the phono add on

You could try the Supratek Grange. Contary to popular belief, he may still make a no holds bar version on special request.

http://www.supratek.biz

I will second the recommendation of the VAC Renaissance. Excellent build quality, no cheap folded sheetmetal chassis like a lot of others and a jewel like faceplate. A great sounding pre with all the features you asked for. Expect to pay 4K plus used.

I've yet to see a preamp that runs single-ended, but then can be balanced in the future... what we are really talking about here is a balanced preamp that can run single-ended for now.

Most balanced preamps can do that.

So- does this mean you want to know what the best balanced line tube preamps are?

Atma-Sphere MP-1 MkIII w/balanced phono
Aesthetix line/phono combo
ARC Ref 3 dunno if they still have a balanced phono stage though.
Allen Wright Vacuum State

I'd start there- that is if you really want true balanced capability.

Aesthetix Janus would fit the bill.