The Joule is worth a home audition, especially if you have good memories from a prior experience. IMO, the Joule and the Pass were perhaps more similar than different, and the combination went a tad too far into a rich and smooth presentation. While it did some interesting things, I ultimately found it dull for my tastes. I am sure that many will find such a combination quite pleasing. I have appreciated the BAT for providing a dynamic and clean synergy, also with low noise plus a balanced design. I think you are correct to worry about excess noise with the Pass and your very efficient speakers. Which is again why you should narrow down to 2-3 preamps, and do a home demo.