Solid-state preamp with tube power amp

This is unorthodox. It's usually the other way around. Not likely to work well, but I would never say never.

not important at all...mixing tube and solid state gear in any combination can produce great music........i've always preferred the sound of my compact discs with a tube somewhere in the signal path.

Actually, this is the setup being used by Tom Evans Audio Design in their ultra-fi gear. They argue that ss is most critical at the preamp level, since tube noise overwhelms the tiny signals there. The preamp just won HiFi+ product of the year; the amp is not yet released but has been mentioned very favorably in that magazine. You can read their arguments at http://www.thebesthifiintheworld.com.

I completely disagree with Elinor. I currently use a solid state preamp with a tube amp, and find it my favorite of all the combinations.

I encourage you to audition a solid state preamp with a tube amp to see if you like it, rather than dismissing it without hearing it.

Michael