Tube Pre and SS Power? Or the reverse?

Most here say that a tube pre and a SS power is the way to go.  The reason I hesitate is that the McIntosh dealer said to do the opposite.  He says to get the C49 SS preamp and the MC275 tube power.  

He says the C2800/MC462 is a great combo but definitely more expensive and may not produce as noticeable difference compared to a tube power amp (MC275). 

I'm also going with the assumption that the upgrade will even be worth it.  I love my Mac MA352, but people say I "need more power" because the Revel Studios are large, plus I have 2 subs and a big room.  All solid state components sound too harsh for me and sometimes even hurt my ears with too much detail.  I'm hoping the ss/tube combo will give me a bit more detail while keeping the "warm" sound I like.  But again... its an assumption.  

It seems like there's no way to tell without buying the components, compare to what i have,  and then returning them if they don't sound like I hope

Iʻm a fan of vintage gear.  Iʻd do a tube preamp and a solid state preamp.  Tube preamps I like are the classic Mac C22  along with a Sumo Andromeda power amp.  Iʻve always liked the sound of MOSFET amps from that era.

As I mentioned earlier, I have a C53 and a version VI MC275. I also use my C53 with a vintage MC240 which definitely delivers serious tubey goodness. I love my 275, but it swings more to the clinical side in my opinion. If old school tube sound is what you're looking for, maybe a tube preamp would be a better match with the 275.

Op, the dealer is right. SS pre + tube power is the right way to go. The sound will be coherent, with ss to tube or tube to tube. 

Tube pre and SS amp. Those speakers are hard to drive with a tube amp, but should be perfectly OK with SS. 87db and impedance dipping down to 3.6 ohms are not good for any tube amp. I design and build tube amps and preamps and from my experience no matter if the tube amp has 4 ohms output, they like 8 ohms load.